Showmax reveals Thabo Bester doccie

Showmax have announced a gripping four-part series on the criminal spree of South Africa’s most brazen convict, Thabo Bester, and his reported girlfriend, Nandipha Magudumana.

The couple are currently awaiting their pre-trial in the Free State Court. Along with seven others, the duo are facing charges of assisting Thabo Bester’s prison escape, fraud, corruption, and violating multiple bodies.

SHOWMAX TRACKING THABO BESTER: ALL THE DETAILS

Tracking Thabo Bester will be screened in two parts on 15 March and 22 March on streaming service Showmax. The series was produced by IdeaCandy, who also helmed Devilsdorp and Rosemary’s Hitlist

The four-part true-crime documentary will document the shocking news that the convicted murderer and rapist did not burn to death in his Mangaung prison cell. Instead, he was seen shopping alongside Nandipha Magudumana at Woolworths in Sandton City.

According to Showmax, the first episode follows GroundUp journalists Marecia Damons and Daniel Steyn as they investigate an anonymous tip-off. The duo co-wrote the bestselling book The Thabo Bester Story: The Facebook Rapist, the Celebrity Doctor, and the Escape from Cell 35. 

Subsequent episodes look at why Bester was called the Facebook rapist and in jail originally. It also explores how a celebrity doctor fell for a convicted criminal and left her children to go on the run with him to Tanzania. Finally, viewers will get a look at who really died in Cell 35. 

The documentary will see interviews by prisoners and prison warders at Mangaung Correctional Centre; the family of Katlego Bereng Mpholo, whose body was found in Cell 35; Nandipha’s brother Nkosinathi Sekeleni, 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 shows the media’s and social media’s reactions to the story.

Director Nikki Comninos 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.”

Watch the trailer:

WHEN WILL COURT CASE RESUME?

Thabo, his co-accused Nandipha Magudumana, and seven others will return to court on 5 June 2024 for a pre-trial conference.