Netflix defends 'Beauty and the Bester' as Magudumana, Bester lawyers cry foul

Lawyers for Dr Nandipha Magudumana and convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester have sought to block its release, citing defamation and violations of dignity.

Netflix, however, pushed back, arguing that the documentary deals with facts already in the public domain, carries significant public interest value, and amplifies the voices of Bester’s victims.

Senior Counsel for Netflix, Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, told the court that the four-part series gives victims a long-denied platform.

“This documentary gives the victims of Thabo Bester a platform to be heard after years of silence. To silence the film is to silence them again,” Ngcukaitobi said.

He added that the public deserves answers about how Bester staged one of South Africa’s most daring prison escapes.

“The public has a right to know how Bester, a convicted rapist and murderer, managed to stage one of the most elaborate prison breaks in South African history. It goes to the heart of accountability,” he argued.

Addressing concerns that the series tarnishes Magudumana’s dignity, Ngcukaitobi said she was offered the opportunity to respond to questions but declined.

“Magudumana was given an opportunity to comment before the documentary was broadcast, but she chose not to exercise that right. That cannot now be turned into a justification to gag the documentary,” he told the court.

Netflix also warned that any order to block the series would undermine media freedom.

“To prevent the media from reporting on facts that are already in the public domain is to undermine not only the rights of the media, but also the constitutional rights of South Africans to receive information,” Ngcukaitobi said.

But Advocate Benjamin Moafrika Wa Maila, representing Bester, said the very name Beauty and the Bester was defamatory and deliberately designed to cast his client as a “beast”.

He argued that the title unfairly personifies Bester as a monster in the public imagination, permanently tying his identity to the notorious fairytale.

“From its naming, angle and perspective, this documentary has already brought what we call a serious defamation to the person of Thabo Bester,” Wa Maila said.

He warned that future generations may even stop associating the fairytale with its original meaning.

“The beast no longer exists. Who exists? The beast has been replaced by Bester. So, in the nearer future, when kids are asked, they won’t say Beauty and the Beast. They will say Beauty and the Bester, meaning the beast has been replaced by a certain individual. Now we have a beast personified into the person of Thabo Bester."

He also criticised the inclusion of retired Constitutional Court Justice Edwin Cameron in the series, saying his commentary creates the perception that Bester is already “found guilty” in the documentary.

“When a former judge, who has done so much work and whose precedents we respect, says this is one of the most shocking stories of his life, it creates a certain element in this documentary. It seems like Mr Thabo Bester is already found guilty in the film,” Wa Maila argued.

Judgment has been reserved until Friday morning, just hours before the series is set to premiere. The ruling could have far-reaching implications for media freedom, the right to dignity, and how South Africans balance storytelling with constitutional protections.

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