Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa on Monday dismissed allegations that the security cluster of ministers was suppressing the media over Nkandla.<\/p>\n
“There wouldn’t be any suppression of the media. I think some people in the media are playing dumb,” he said at a breakfast briefing in Midrand hosted by The New Age.<\/p>\n
The Minister said pictures of President Jacob Zuma’s private Nkandla homestead in KwaZulu-Natal had been in the media for some time.<\/p>\n
“You can’t come now and say people shouldn’t take pictures.”<\/p>\n
He said they were against the media overstepping the mark and disclosing security features of the president’s home.<\/p>\n
“You will never find that anywhere in the world. We are saying it cannot be done in South Africa, even in your oldest democracy such things are not done.”<\/p>\n
Mthethwa said even visitors to the US White House in Washington saw only what security allowed them to see.<\/p>\n
Several newspapers printed photographs of the Nkandla residence on Friday after a warning by State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele that it was illegal to do so.<\/p>\n
Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) acting CEO Phumla William said publishing security features of Nkandla could obviously pose a threat and risk to the personal safety of the head of state.<\/p>\n
She urged the media to take a responsible stance by not publishing “any security features of National Key Points” that could compromise national safety.<\/p>\n
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