by Thinus Ferreira
On Friday morning Judge Sulet Potterill, as expected, dismissed the urgent court interdict application brought by convicted murderer, rapist and fraudster Thabo Bester and dr Nandipha Magadumana who tried to block Netflix from showing its documentary series Beauty and the Bester that the streamer earmarked for a release today.
"Judge Sulet Poterill in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria this morning said "A defamation claim can be instituted and damages sought. I cannot find in any way that the screening of the utterances they find to make the doctor guilty affects her right to have a fair trial".
She dismissed the interdict application with cost against Thabo Bester and Nandipha Magadumana and noted that the information about the two are "firmly in the public domain".
At exactly 09:00 on Friday, Netflix globally released the 3-episode Beauty and the Bester, with the 40-minute episodes having titles like "A Monster is Dead", "Ride or Die", and Everything to Lose".
The first episode of Beauty and the Bester details the prison fire in which Thabo Bester allegedly faked his death to escape, the second episode details how Nandipha Magadumana's friends and family feared that she "got swept away by love", while the third episode chronicles the manhunt for the two fugitives who crossed borders into Tanzania, and how deep Nandipha's involvement is in Thabo Bester's life of crime.
Produced by StoryScope, Beauty and the Bester - a word play on the story "Beauty and the Beast" - has Anthony Molyneaux as director, with Neil Brandt, Laura Colucci and Thandi Davids as executive producers.
Netflix declined to provide media with digital screeners of Beauty and the Bester ahead of time, something which is usually done for review purposes and to promote content, saying it is "sensitive".
Thabo Bester and Nandipha Magadumana, with separate lawyers, both brought an urgent interdict application against the release on Netflix of Beauty and the Bester, chronicling the buzzy crime-riddled tale they're ensnared in.
After the judge tossed the interdict application on Friday morning, TVwithThinus asked Netflix South Africa for comment. Burson that does corporate communications on behalf of Netflix SA said Netflix has no comment or statement.
It's a two out of two for fail for Thabo Bester and Nandipha Magadumana who last year also brought an interdict application against MultiChoice's streamer Showmax and IdeaCandy when they tried to block the release of the documentary Tracking Thabo Bester that was also dismissed with cost.
Thabo Bester and Nandipha Magadumana are both due back in the Bloemfontein High Court next week Friday for their criminal trial.
Thabo Bester is currently held in the C-Max division of the Kgosi Mampuru II jail.
