There is something about March that drives the notorious couple to be in their content creator element and just give drama.
In March 2023, the picture of Thabo Bester with his alleged girlfriend, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, emerged from social media and that is when it came out that the convicted murderer and rapist had escaped from prison.
After that, it was one spectacle after another.
A year later, they are in police custody and yet seeming bent on giving people more drama.
Last week, a preview of the Showmax documentary about the couple went viral and they threatened to sue to stop the documentary from airing.
On the day that the documentary was supposed to air, Bester and Dr Nandipha, through their legal representatives, filed an urgent application to stop the doccie from airing.
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The matter appeared at the Johannesburg High Court, sitting in front of Judge Stuart Wilson, on Friday a few hours before the doccie aired on Showmax.
The two legal teams representing the inmates argue that they should have been given a copy of the doccie before it aired and that their clients should be the ones telling their stories.
Showmax’s legal representative Nick Ferriera says their client must provide news and entertainment to inform the public, it its duty. They added that they wanted to include the inmates but there are rules in the correctional service.
Judge Wilson told the court that applicants are both incarcerated pending their trial on charges relating to a well-known escape from custody that took place a year ago.
The escape from custody, how it was achieved, the characters involved in it, and what happened afterward have been a matter of substantial public interest, the judge added.
The escape was “so substantial in fact, that the respondents in this case have sought to broadcast a documentary about it“.
He dismissed the interdict.
They will not be able to appeal this matter because the first episode of the docu-series is going live on the streaming platform on Friday at 4pm
Magudumana’s legal representative, Machini Motloung ,says they are disappointed at the dismissal, and it is not what they expected because they litigated with a purpose.
“We were confident about what our case was about. We are dismayed but not discourage,” he says.
He says they will appeal in a different manner and form and that Dr Magudumana will have an opportunity to share her story.
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“She will also do a documentary. You need to wait in abeyance, but the document is coming soon.”
Thabo’s legal team also shares the same sentiments.
Expressing their disappointment outside court, Neo Motsatsi says they at least expected the court to allow them space to either view or at least have whatever it is that’s in the documentary said by Dr Nandipha’s brother, Nkoninathi Sekeleni.
“Either expand from the documentary or at least be given the opportunity," says Motsatsi.
She says the court has expressed that the doors of the court are open and any person, including Bester or any person who is incarcerated, has a right to approach the court.
“We cannot appeal, the documentary is going to be flighted at 4pm. We have exercised our right and the court has pronounced. We are happy because we had an opportunity to be heard.”
