National Key Points Act, 1980

[6] The act, still in force and unamended since apartheid, came under the spotlight after President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead was declared a National Key Point in 2010 amid controversy over public expenditure on upgrades to the property.

[3][26][27] The list of sites declared as National Key Points was formerly not available to the public,[6][8][28] but it was released in January 2015 pursuant to an order of the Johannesburg High Court.

[6][7][21] An advisory committee appointed by then Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa in May 2013 clarified that:[30] The government formerly asserted that it was not obliged to publicly disclose the details of sites that have been declared National Key Points.

[2] The Department of Police refused the requests of the Right2Know Campaign in 2012,[28][27][31] and the Democratic Alliance Parliamentary Opposition in 2013,[17] to disclose a list of National Key Points citing security concerns.

[2][3][6] Such disclosure could constitute a criminal offence subject to penalties, but the public and journalists were unable to comply with the act as they did not know which sites have been declared National Key Points.

[46] Mthethwa subsequently presented the findings and recommendations of an advisory committee he appointed in May 2013 to Parliament, stating "The National Key Points Act has been criticized in the recent past for being based on old apartheid legislation.

[8] Following the election, Mthethwa was replaced as Minister of Police by Nkosinathi Nhleko, who was appointed to President Jacob Zuma's cabinet in his second term of office.

[48] The act came under the spotlight during revelations about public expenditure on President Jacob Zuma's private residence at Nkandla,[7][8] first exposed by Mail & Guardian journalist Mandy Rossouw in December 2009.

[31][49][50][51] The site was declared a National Key Point by then Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa in April 2010,[8][52] and the act was invoked by government officials in an attempt to justify the expenditure,[4][53] withhold information about it,[6][8] and prevent anyone from taking or publishing photographs of the homestead.

[35][43] In addition to public expenditure on upgrades not related to security, Zuma did not safeguard his residence at his own cost in contravention of Mthethwa's declaration in terms of the act.