Court 'unlikely' to hear Bester & Magudumana application against Showmax
A legal expert from Zikalala attorneys, Mpumelelo Zikalala, says if the new documentary on Thabo Bester contains information that defames his character, he could always institute civil action at a later stage.
He says Bester and his co-accused, Dr Nandipha Magadumana, can also open a criminal case of defamation and crimen injuria.
The convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester’s lawyers have joined his girlfriend and co-accused, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, in writing to Showmax to demand that he be provided with copies of its documentary series ‘Tracking Thabo Bester’ with immediate effect.
The documentary is due to be aired on March 15.
Bester’s defence team gave Showmax until 2 pm on Saturday to provide them with copies of the series, failing which Bester’s team is threatening to go to court to halt the release of the documentary.
"I do not think the court is going to entertain an indirect gagging order by them when it comes to this piece of information because, at the end of the day, it is a matter of public interest that has been distributed a number of times by media houses," said Zikalala.
"As long as the information will contain facts, then they do not have anything they can default to in the publication.”
He says the documentary series will not lead to an unfair trial for the duo.
"I do not think that they are going to receive an unfair trial. Yes, perceptions from the members of the public may have changed. However, the court is simply looking at what has been submitted to it.
"We have the utmost confidence in our presiding officers that whenever they're dealing with something, they will be able to do so without any influence from the public.
"And if any of the parties are aggrieved, there are legal appeal processes and procedures that are available. They can go to the higher court and try to persuade them to give them a different verdict.”
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