In brief
Thabo Bester, known as the 'Facebook rapist', has failed in his legal attempt to block Netflix from airing a documentary that details his criminal history and prison escape. Although Bester and his partner, Nandipha Magudumana, claimed the documentary is defamatory, the court ruled in favor of Netflix, stating the case is of public interest. They may still pursue defamation claims after the film's release.
Convicted South African rapist Thabo Bester has lost a court bid to block Netflix from broadcasting a documentary about his life - including how he allegedly faked his death and escaped from prison.
His lawyers argued that Beauty and the Bester was defamatory, but the streaming giant defended its plan to release the three-part investigation.
Bester's partner, celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana, features in the documentary, having allegedly helped him escape. She was part of the court bid to halt the release.
In a court ruling on Friday, a judge stated that the rape case was firmly in the public domain and that they had failed to prove that their petition was urgent.
However, she stated that they could still sue for defamation after the documentary airs, which is set to release later today.
Bester was convicted in 2012 for the rape and murder of his model girlfriend Nomfundo Tyhulu, and a year earlier, he was found guilty of raping and robbing two other women.
Known as the "Facebook rapist," he lured his victims through the social networking site and was serving a life sentence when he allegedly escaped from a maximum-security prison in 2022.
A fire in the prison led to the finding of what authorities believed to be his body, but it turned out to be someone else's. Bester, undetected for a year, allegedly lived under an alias in Johannesburg, aided by his partner.
The duo was arrested in Tanzania in April 2023 and deported back to South Africa, where they currently await trial on several charges, including violating a corpse, defeating the ends of justice, and fraud.
While the court ruled that their claim to halt the documentary lacked urgency, it noted that Bester and Magudumana can pursue a defamation claim in the future, underscoring the public interest involved in the case.
