Overview

• Netflix released the three-part docuseries on Sept. 12 after a judge rejected an urgent bid by Thabo Bester and Dr. Nandipha Magudumana to block it as defamatory.
• The ruling leaves the door open for potential defamation claims at a later stage, according to coverage of the decision.
• Bester, convicted in 2012 of rape and the murder of Nomfundo Tyhulu, has been returned to prison to serve his life sentence and faces additional charges linked to his 2022 escape.
• Magudumana remains in custody awaiting trial on charges that include aiding the escape, fraud, and defeating the ends of justice, with proceedings delayed multiple times.
• Authorities previously confirmed Bester faked his death in a 2022 prison cell fire using another man’s body, and he and Magudumana were arrested in Tanzania in April 2023 after allegedly running scams while living under aliases.