by Herman Manson (@marklives) The media in its broadest sense, from print to social media, has collectively defied the ministers of the ‘security cluster’ in the South African government who claim that it is illegal to publish photographs of President Jacob Zuma’s taxpayer upgraded Nkandla home (later qualified as “sensitive” parts of the home), by, well, publishing photographs of President Jacob Zuma’s taxpayer upgraded Nkandla home.
Many of the major newspapers feature Nkandla on their front pages today. Twitter saw a #NkandlaPhoto hashtag born as social media users joined news media in defying the government warning.
The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) issued a statement saying its members “…will continue to publish images of the Nkandla upgrades because we firmly believe there is immense public interest in doing so. To stop doing so will be a betrayal of our duty as watchdogs of democracy.”
The Times ran a powerful cover on Friday (Nov 22) under featuring a photo of the Nkandla compound with the headline ‘So, arrest us’.
Newspaper images courtesy of Grubstreet.