South Africa bans pictures of president's house

http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/nov/22/press-freedom-southafrica

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The South African government has warned that media outlets publishing photographs of President Jacob Zuma's house face prosecution.

State security minister Siyabonga Cwele said: "No one, including those in the media, are allowed to take images and publicise images."

The ban on pictures follows a long-running controversy over Zuma's residence in Nkandla, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is a huge compound, with a mini-football pitch, gym, helicopter pads, a tuck-shop for one of Zuma's four wives and a pen for livestock.

A scandal erupted when it was discovered that more than £12m of state funds was used to refurbish the property, prompting many media outlets to publish aerial shots of the property.

Ministers have defended the expense as necessary for "security upgrades" and have justified the ban on pictures by invoking the 1980 National Key Points Act, which prohibits publicity for "installations of strategic importance."

The South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) says the act is being misused. It issued a statement saying "ministers are using security laws to avoid accounting to the public on the Nkandla upgrades."

Sanef's chairman, Mpumelelo Mkhabela, said ministers were threatening to prosecute journalists for publishing public interest information.

"There's an assumption that the media has somehow put the president's security at risk, which is not true," he said.

<em>Sources:</em> Eye Witness News/FT

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