Judgment pending on Netflix series about Thabo Bester

THE Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, will deliver its judgment today, exactly half an hour before the Netflix three-part documentary, Beauty and the Bester, is due to air at 9am on South African screens, on whether the series may be screened.

- ZELDA VENTER

Judge Sulet Potterill reserved her judgment on the matter to today, after asking Netflix when the true-crime series will be made available to viewers across the globe.

Convicted rapist and murderer, Thabo Bester, and his life partner, Nandipha Magudumana, turned to the court for an urgent order halting the screening of the series. It was argued on behalf of both of them that Netflix should hold the series until their criminal trial is over.

Counsel for both argued that they will be seen in a bad light if the 300 million Netflix viewers worldwide saw the series and that they will be convicted in the court of public opinion. It was argued that they have the right to be presumed innocent, until found guilty.