African press review 2 February 2018

South Africa lifts hundreds of trapped miners to safety while Zimbabwe battles another cholera outbreak at its borders.

We begin with reassuring news from South Africa that 950 miners who had been trapped inan underground mine in the Free State since Wednesday after a power outage are now at the surface.

Times Live quotes the company Sibanye-Stillwater as saying that all the workers have safely returned to the surface. According to the paper, the statement also addressed the issue of the employees conditions underground underlining that they all had access to food and water during the rescue and are due to undergo medical examination and trauma counselling together with their families.

The Times reports that while the company announced the resumption of mining operations on Monday 5 February, South Africa's Parliament had called for drastic action to be taken against Sibanye over the mining accident.

Cholera at Zimbabwe's borders

Meanwhile, the Sowetan has its eyes on Zimbabwe’s borders with Zambia, Mozambique‚ Botswana and South Africa where it reports efforts to contain a cholera outbreak.

The paper says a National response team set up by Harare is already in place in strategic areas to coordinate screening campaigns.

The Sowetan special attention is being paid to Zimbabwe's borders with Zambia‚ where 3‚000 cases and more than 70 deaths have been reported. More than 155 cases have been reported in Mozambique, according to the newspaper.

In Kenya, the papers are all about the ravages of Raila Odinga's controversial oath of office last Tuesday. Daily Nation reports that the Nairobi High Court has ordered the government to immediately restore all TV transmissions for three private stations which were shut down during Tuesday's electricity outage.

The paper says Justice Chacha Mwita also issued temporary orders barring the government from tempering with the broadcasts of NTV, KTN News and Citizen TV, pending the hearing on February 14 of a reparations law suit filed by the media houses.

In related news, the Nation also reports that the Bloggers Association of Kenya has gone to court to challenge sections of a law which they say threatens the freedom of expression of the media.

The case comes after Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, hinted that the police are looking into the “role of some elements in the media fraternity who participated in the furtherance of an attempt to subvert or overthrow the government”.

The Standard says Kalonzo Musyoka , one of four top opposition chiefs who skipped Raila Odinga's swearing in on Tuesday was overcome with emotion during a press conference convened to put up a show of unity in the National Super Alliance.

According to the publication Kalonzo, who had been due to be sworn in "the People's deputy President”, was captured on camera wiping tears, as he spoke after being labelled as a coward for abandoning Raila in his hour of need.

In a comment the Kenyan Star says that to some core opposition supporters, the oath was useless as Raila Odinga only fulfilled his promise, which in the process has destroyed the careers of his “co-principals”.

According to the paper, while Raila cemented his place in the hearts of his supporters who pushed him to take the oath he knew very well that the instruments of power were already with President Uhuru Kenyatta.