Magudumana and Bester brought an urgent application to interdict the streaming giant from airing Beauty and the Bester.
In just a few minutes, South Africans will find out whether they will be able to watch the much-anticipated documentary about the convicted Facebook rapist and his girlfriend, Nandipha Magudumana.
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria will deliver its judgment on Friday, exactly 30 minutes before the Netflix three-part documentary true-crime series, Beauty and the Bester, is due to land at 9am on South African screens.
Judgment
Magudumana and Bester brought an urgent application to interdict the streaming giant from airing Beauty and the Bester.
Judge Sulet Potterill on Thursday reserved her judgment on the matter until early Friday after an intense day of arguments from Bester, Magudumana and Netflix’s lawyers.
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Potterill wanted to know exactly when the series would be made available to viewers across the globe before handing down her judgment.
Arguments
On Thursday, the court heard Magudumana was paid for her role in a Netflix documentary.
Advocate MoAfrika Wa Maila, representing Bester, said Netflix was presenting his client’s alleged escape as fact, despite there being no conviction for it yet.
Wa Maila accused Netflix of exploiting Bester’s story for profit without his consent and failing to offer him a right of reply.
“It means that the right to the dignity of Mr Bester is in question. He has no rights anymore.”
‘Cease and desist’
Advocate Lerato Moela, representing Magudumana, told the court his client had sent a cease-and-desist letter to Storyscope, the production company behind the documentary, on 20 August to halt its release until she could view it and give input as part of her contractual rights.
“There is a commercial agreement between Ms Nandipha Magudumana and Storyscope,” Moela said.
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‘Insignificant peace’
Netflix’s lawyer, Advocate Temba Ngcukaitobi, described the documentary as an “insignificant piece” of a much larger story that has already been extensively covered about Bester’s escape and Magudumana’s alleged role.
Ngcukaitobi argued it would be “astonishing if the media were prohibited from repeating these facts,” adding that the documentary merely points out that “the man is an escapee and that the lady has aided and abetted the escape.”
“This is a serious court. We are all adults. The man was serving life in prison; he got out of it. He was not released by the system, so he escaped. Let’s not play around.”
Arrest
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.
Additional reporting by Molefe Seeletsa
READ MORE: Convicted rapist Thabo Bester appeals to ConCourt, alleges judicial bias
