Netflix says Dr Nandipha Magudumana was paid for providing them with her archives, which were used in the Beauty and the Bester documentary that she is now attempting to interdict from being broadcast, Adv Tembeka Ngcukaitobi told the court on Thursday.
Ngcukaitobi, representing Netflix, was arguingin the case brought by convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester and his doctor girlfriend, Magudumana.
“It is obviously a factor that [Netflix] has made commercial investments to the production of the documentary, and it has done so with the knowledge and participation of Dr Nadipha Magudumane. She was paid for the use of her archives; it is therefore unacceptable for her, at the last minute, to turn around,” said Ngcukaitobi
Ngcukaitobi said it would be astonishing if the court interdicts [Netflix] from broadcasting information that is already in the public domain.
“The documentary, Beauty and the Bester, primarily builds on previously disclosed information. It collates and presents material that has long been in the public domain through investigative journalism, court proceedings, parliamentary debate, the work of correctional oversight bodies and social media,” he said.
The documentary, Beauty and the Bester, primarily builds on previously disclosed information. It collates and presents material that has long been in the public domain through investigative journalism, court proceedings, parliamentary debate, the work of correctional oversight bodies and social media.
— Adv Tembeka Ngcukaitobi
“The allegations about Mr Bester’s staged death in prison, his escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022 and his subsequent arrest with Dr Magudumana in Tanzania in April 2023, have been extensively reported by multiple media outlets, most notably GroundUp, News24 and eNCA, and have been the subject of a book and a documentary.
“These reports, spanning over more than two years, include interviews, leaked prison records, parliamentary committee inquiries, statements by correctional services officials and scrutiny by the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services.” .
Responding to the argument that Bester and Magudumana had not given a chance to reply in the documentary, Ngcukaitobi said Magudumana had been offered the right to reply and had shown interest but later chose not to, while Bester has no right to be given that opportunity.
“He has no right to do so in the SA law,” Ngcukaitobi said.
In his application to halt the airing of the documentary, Bester said Netflix had employed “crafty” and “manipulative” editing practices in the show.
He also said his right to a fair trial, human dignity and to be presumed innocent pending the outcome of the court case would be affected by the screening of the documentary.
He has asked the court to grant him an interim interdict preventing Netflix from releasing or broadcasting Beauty and the Bester on Friday and pleaded with the court to direct Netflix to postpone broadcasting the documentary until after the criminal trial concludes.
Bester was serving a life sentence at Mangaung prison for two counts of rape and one of murder when he escaped, allegedly with Magudumana’s help, in 2022.
The pair allegedly burnt the body of Katlego Bereng Mpholo and made it seem it was Bester who had died in a fire in his prison cell .
Bester and Magudumana — who is married to a fellow doctor and has two children — were arrested in Arusha, Tanzania, in April 2023 after escaping from SA.
Their trial in the Bloemfontein high court is expected to resume next week.
Judgement in the Netflix matter has been reserved for Friday at 8.30.
Netflix intends to flight the documentary on Friday morning.
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