Zuma's private residence
South African media published footage and photos of President Jacob Zuma's refurbished private residence in defiance of a verbal ban by the country's State Security Minister - Siyabonga Cwele.
Cwele said "No one, including those in the media, is allowed to take images and publicise images even pointing where the possible security breaches are... It is not done anywhere. We have not seen the images of the White House showing where the security features are. It is not done in any democracy;" threatening that anyone who published images or footage of the residence will be arrested.
The South African government denied issuing a gag order and accused local media of deceiving the public by misconstruing Cwele's comments.
"Government has no problem with the media publishing pictures of National Key Points, including President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla residence, as it is part of their daily line of duty. However, zooming into safety and security features of National Key Points is a challenge as it compromises national security," Government spokeswoman Phumla Williams said.
The South African media say the public paid for the upgrades and have a right to see how their money was spent.
Zuma's Nkandla private residence is at the centre of a row after it emerged that the government had used $19m of taxpayers' money to refurbish it. The upgrades to Zuma's private residence include a helipad and an underground bunker, which the government says are needed for security reasons.
The main opposition has lambasted the upgrade and called for investigations into why so much was spent and whether Mr Zuma was aware of the cost burden to the State.
The Democratic Alliance has always insisted that the upgrade was not only morally wrong and unjustifiable given the country's social needs, but that it is also possibly illegal.
Other opposition parties have called it an abuse of State funds.
They also want to know why Mr Zuma's home was classified as a place of national security, despite being a private residence.
The contract is being investigated by South Africa's Public Protector, or anti-corruption watchdog - Thuli Madonsela, for the potential misuse of public money to fund Nkandla homestead upgrades. Earlier this month, Security Ministers went to court to try to block Ms Madonsela from publishing her report.