Showmax claims to have taken all necessary measures to ensure that the documentary complies with the standards of ethical reporting and journalistic integrity.
Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha Magudumana are pulling out all the stops to stop the documentary ‘Tracking Thabo Bester’ from airing on live streaming platform Showmax.
The larger-than-life story of South Africa’s most famous prison break is scheduled to air on March 15 and 22. The pair have instructed their legal team to institute urgent actions to halt the broadcast. Legal letters have been issued to the relevant parties.
Showmax released the trailer for the four-part series last week. It depicts how celebrity doctor Dr Magudumana, fell for a convicted criminal and left her children behind to go on the run with him to Tanzania.
Showmax claims to have have taken all necessary measures to ensure that the documentary complies with the standards of ethical reporting and journalistic integrity, despite the fact that these demands have been made public.
The streaming service also thinks it’s critical for the general public to watch this show and form their own opinions.
Ordinary South Africans have asked for the documentary to be released ever since GroundUp first broke the news that the murderer and rapist did not burn to death in Cell 35 at Mangaung Correctional Centre and was instead shopping at Woolworths in Sandton City.
Interviews include prisoners and prison warders at Mangaung Correctional Centre; the family of Katlego Bereng Mpholo, whose body was found in Cell 35; Nkosinathi Sekeleni, Nandipha’s older brother; and former South African Police Service head profiler Dr Gérard Labuschagne, who interviewed Bester after his 2012 arrest for rape and murder.
The documentary also features the media and social media reactions to the story.
Nikki Comninos, who made her Showmax Original debut as a director, was also served with legal letters. She spoke about the documentary and said: “We tend to discuss Thabo Bester like it’s an isolated case, but it’s clearly not.
“Bester has been depicted as some kind of anomaly for being able to run a business while incarcerated, but so did Dawie de Villiers — also a convicted rapist who lured his victims online — at a completely different prison. This raises questions about what is happening with the South African prison system.”
The trial of Bester, Magudumana, and their co-accused was supposed to begin in the Free State High Court at the end of February but has been postponed to June 5.
The Star
anita.nkonki@inl.co.za