Buster bid blows up — Bester and Magudumana fail to halt Netflix doccie

Thabo Bester

Cape Town – The Gauteng High Court has dismissed an urgent application brought by convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester and his partner, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, seeking to block the release of Netflix’s three-part true-crime documentary Beauty and the Bester.

The ruling came on Friday, just 30 minutes before the series was scheduled to premiere in South Africa.

The pair had argued that the documentary included three statements that unfairly portrayed them as guilty. However, the court found the matter was not urgent and struck it off the roll, ordering Bester and Magudumana to pay legal costs on a punitive scale C — the highest level of cost order, allowing respondents to recover nearly all legal fees to deter frivolous applications.

This judgment represents another legal setback for Bester and Magudumana, who face multiple charges linked to Bester’s 2022 escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre, as well as allegations of fraud, corruption, and other serious criminal offences.

Judge Sulet Potterill had reserved judgment on Thursday after hearing arguments from Bester, Magudumana, and Netflix’s legal teams.

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