WATCH | Netflix docuseries uncovers Pearl Thusi’s brush with Thabo Bester

Netflix

Cape Town – Actress and media personality Pearl Thusi is breaking her silence in Netflix’s highly anticipated docuseries Beauty and The Bester, revealing how she narrowly survived a harrowing encounter with convicted criminal Thabo Bester, infamously known as the “Facebook Rapist.”

The three-part series is set to premiere on 12 September and promises emotionally raw revelations and investigative depth.

In the recently released trailer, Thusi appears visibly emotional as she recounts the frightening moment she came face-to-face with Bester more than a decade ago.

In a 2012 affidavit reported by Sunday World, she explained that she pleaded with him not to steal her laptop because it contained photographs of her daughter.

She further described how she tried to appeal to him on a personal level by offering counselling at her church and encouraging him to seek a different path.

According to The South African, Thusi remembered being handed or thrown a knife during the encounter, which she placed in the back of her vehicle.

She later introduced Bester to musician-turned-preacher Kabelo Mabalane, gave him a Bible inscribed with a personal note, and drove him to Mabalane’s home in Sandton before the situation de-escalated. Thusi only became fully aware of Bester’s criminal record and violent history after seeing reports in the media.

The documentary includes wider perspectives on Bester’s crimes, with interviews and investigative material that trace his relationship with Nandipha Magudumana and the pair’s 2022 prison escape. Netflix confirmed that Magudumana’s father, Zolile Sekeleni, is amo those interviewed.

Bester and Magudumana remain in custody and are expected to appear in the Bloemfontein High Court on 10 November as they face charges of fraud, escape, and related offenses.

The release of Beauty and The Bester marks the first time Pearl Thusi has spoken extensively about her personal ordeal, adding a survivor’s voice to one of South Africa’s most notorious criminal cases.

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