Thabo Bester's lawyers argue Netflix production will influence witnesses

JOHANNESBURG - Lawyers for notorious criminal Thabo Bester have asked the Pretoria High Court not to allow the broadcast of a documentary, which they claim paints him as a monster.

Bester and his accomplice, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, approached the Pretoria High Court with an urgent bid to interdict the airing of the Netflix production, Beauty and the Bester.

They have argued that it infringes on their right to a fair trial and should only be aired after the trial is completed.

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The pair is accused of staging Bester’s escape from the Mangaung prison in 2023, where he was serving a life sentence.

Thabo Bester’s lawyer, Moafrika Maila, argued that the Netflix documentary series, Beauty and the Bester, seeks to defame him and create the impression that he is guilty of the prison escape he is accused of.

He said this may infringe on his right to a fair trial.

"Even if the judges are independent, the witnesses are not independent. Witnesses are human beings with emotions. There will be witnesses in this trial who must speak the truth. Once they saw the documentary, they will definitely be influenced."

But arguing on behalf of Netflix, advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, said the contents of the documentary could not defame Bester.

"It is an impossible argument to run - Thabo Bester is a rapist and was sentenced to life, and is also a murderer. The fact that the documentary repeats that he is a rapist and murderer cannot defame him."

Judge Suet Potterill will hand down judgment in the matter at 8:30am on Friday morning, just half an hour before the production’s scheduled release.