Netflix's 'Beauty and the Bester' documentary set to air after court ruling. Image: Netflix.
(The Post News)– The High Court in Pretoria has on Friday dismissed Thabo Bester and Dr. Nandipha Magudumana’s bid to stop the airing of the Netflix documentary ‘Beauty and the Bester.’ This comes after the pair launched an urgent application in court to halt a Netflix documentary from airing.
Their crimes, escape, and dramatic capture are all examined in the true-crime series. Their attorneys had argued that the documentary might taint ongoing legal proceedings. Moreover, Bester’s lawyers had requested the court to permanently stop Netflix from releasing, broadcasting, streaming, advertising, or publishing the documentary without his consent.
Judge Accuses Bester and Magudumana of Creating Urgency of the Matter
According to Bester’s legal representation, since the interdict is a type of relief that overlaps, it is evident that maintaining uniformity in that application is necessary to prevent duplication of effort and promote court efficiency.Judge Sulet Potterill, after hearing arguments from Bester and Magudumana’s counsel that the series contains inaccurate, defamatory, and unsubstantiated claims and violates their constitutional rights, said the urgent applications submitted to the court were without merit and the urgency was self-created.
According to Judge Potterill, the speculation argued in court was not sufficient, and the application has not complied with the rules. The three-part documentary series will be launched on Friday, 12 September, as scheduled, with the first parts of the widely anticipated series airing.
Bester, a convicted murderer and rapist, escaped from a privately run prison in May 2022. He allegedly staged his death at the Bloemfontein facility and was allegedly helped by his girlfriend, Nandipha Magudumana.
The two were eventually captured in Tanzania in April 2023, before being returned to South Africa. They are awaiting trial on several charges, and they are expected to return to Bloemfontein High Court next Friday.
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