Thabo Bester, a convicted rapist from South Africa, has lost a legal attempt to prevent Netflix from airing a documentary titled “Beauty and the Bester,” which explores his criminal history, including his alleged faked death and escape from prison. Bester’s legal team claimed that the documentary was defamatory, while Netflix maintained that the content falls within the realm of public interest. Notably, Bester’s partner, Dr. Nandipha Magudumana, is featured in the documentary and allegedly assisted in his escape; she joined in the effort to block its release.
On Friday, the court ruled that the details of Bester’s case are “firmly in [the] public domain.” The judge noted that the petitioners had not demonstrated the urgency of their request. The documentary is scheduled to premiere this Friday.
Bester was sentenced in 2012 for the rape and murder of his girlfriend, Nomfundo Tyhulu. In 2011, he was also convicted of crimes involving the rape and robbery of two other women. Known as the “Facebook rapist,” Bester used social media platforms to lure his victims. He escaped from a maximum-security prison in 2022 while serving a life sentence, following an incident in which a fire led authorities to mistakenly identify a charred body as his. Bester reportedly lived under an alias in Johannesburg for a year with Magudumana’s assistance.
Their capture occurred in Tanzania in April 2023, after which they were deported to South Africa. They are currently in custody facing multiple charges, including violating a corpse, defeating the ends of justice, and fraud, and have not yet entered pleas. Bester and Magudumana sought to halt the documentary, arguing it infringed upon their right to a fair trial, but the court found no basis for the urgency of their application while allowing for potential defamation claims in the future.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq65ygpv7p1o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss