South Africa: Nandipha and Thabo Bester Fail to Stop Netflix Showing Their Escape Story

12 September 2025
Scrolla (Johannesburg)
By Dylan Bettencourt
  • The judge threw out their urgent legal case just 30 minutes before the show started streaming this morning.
  • The three-part series called Beauty and the Bester went live on South African Netflix at 9am Friday.

Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha Magudumana failed to stop Netflix from showing a crime documentary about their lives.

The Gauteng High Court threw out their urgent court case on Friday morning. Judge Sulet Potterill made her ruling just 30 minutes before the show started streaming.

The three-part series called Beauty and the Bester went live on South African Netflix at 9am. The couple had tried to get a court order to block the release.

Both Bester and Magudumana's lawyers argued their case in the Pretoria court. Netflix's legal team also presented their arguments to the judge.

Judge Potterill struck the matter off the roll after hearing from both sides. The ruling came too late to stop the documentary from reaching viewers.

The Netflix true-crime series focuses on the dramatic prison escape that made headlines across the country. Bester was serving time when he faked his death and escaped with Magudumana's help.

Read the original article on Scrolla.

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