Cameron, outrightly described the circumstances around Bester's reported prison cell death as "weird."
Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services Judge Edwin Cameron, who features in Netflix’s all-new documentary Beauty and the Bester, says the media is an “utterly vital integral component” of South Africa’s democracy, and applauds the court decision to allow the documentary to be aired.
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Friday gave Netflix’s three-episode docu-series the green light after failed attempts by Nandipha Magudumana and her boyfriend, convicted Facebook rapist Thabo Bester, to halt its airing.
Judgment
North Gauteng High Court Judge Sulet Potterill dismissed bids by Magudumana and Bester’s legal teams 30 minutes before the scheduled broadcast time of Beauty and the Bester.
Both legal teams argued that the documentary would prejudice their upcoming trial and violate their constitutional rights to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence.
In her judgment, Potterill found Magudumana and Bester’s applications lacked urgency and ruled that the legal eagles failed to demonstrate they could not obtain substantial redress through damages after the documentary was broadcast.
Potterill said Bester and Magudumana had ample time to bring their applications and seemingly “waited until the last minute” to launch the urgent court bid.
On Thursday, the court heard Magudumana was paid for her role in a Netflix documentary.
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‘Right decision’
Cameron said Potterill made the right decision to allow the docu-series to be aired.
“I myself was a judge in the act of service for 25 years, I gave a number of judgments in the High Court, in the Supreme Court of Appeal, and then the Constitutional Court on freedom of expression, and I place the media very highly.
There are abuses of media power, which I’ve experienced twice in the last five or ten years. But the media is an utterly vital, integral component of our democracy,” Cameron said.
Freedom of expression
Cameron said he applauds the court’s decision.
“It was a very experienced and capable judge. She gave her judgment yesterday, and I personally applaud that judgment, which allowed the documentary to go forward. The judge pointed out rightly that both Mr. Bester and Dr Magudumana will be able to sue Netflix if they are at all injured in their dignity or in their reputation by the documentary, and that’s the right way to approach freedom of expression through the media, which is doing its job,” Cameron said.
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‘A Monster is Dead’
In the first episode, titled “A Monster is dead”, Cameron outrightly described the circumstances around Bester’s reported prison cell death as “weird.”
According to Cameron, deaths by suicide were not an uncommon occurrence behind bars, but this one stood out.
It was the first-ever death by fire in a cell at the Mangaung Prison, sparking a closer look at the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Cameron said the reason the Mangaung prison cell death was unique was that the correctional centre was well constructed, adding that suicide by fire without a “major propellant was extremely difficult.”
Bester and Magudumana, who were arrested in Tanzania in April 2023 after fleeing South Africa, are facing multiple charges in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein relating to Bester’s May 2022 escape from prison.
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