At the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, Advocate Moafrika Wa Maila, representing convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester, voiced concerns regarding the potential release of the Netflix documentary “Beauty and the Bester.” Wa Maila asserted that streaming the documentary would infringe upon Bester’s right to a fair trial, thereby prejudicing his case.
Bester, alongside his girlfriend Nandipha Magudumana, has filed an urgent application to prevent the airing of the documentary, which they argue contains damaging content. Wa Maila highlighted a specific trailer that, he claimed, breaches Bester’s rights to human dignity and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
During the court proceedings, Wa Maila elaborated, stating, “The words from the father of Magudumana are haunting: ‘I could not imagine my daughter doing such a thing.’ This reflects a public sentiment that could greatly influence the court’s perception.” Furthermore, he cited the words of Justice Cameron, who featured in the documentary, remarking on the shocking circumstances surrounding Bester’s alleged escape.
Wa Maila continued, emphasising the detrimental effect the documentary could have on the perception of Bester’s case: “Now, already the documentary has stated some kind of their truth or some kind of their baseless claims to say he has escaped. This creates a substantial risk that the narrative presented could skew public opinion against my client before we even reach trial.”
The implications of this case stretch beyond Bester and Magudumana alone; they raise pressing questions about media influence on judicial proceedings in South Africa.