One of South Africa's most notorious rapists and murderers, Thabo Bester, has taken court action to block Netflix from broadcasting a documentary about his life - including how he allegedly faked his death and escaped from prison.
His lawyers argued that 'Beauty and the Bester' was defamatory, but the streaming giant defended its plan to release the three-part investigation.
Bester's partner, celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana, features in the documentary, having allegedly helped him escape. She is part of the court bid to halt the release.
The High Court is expected to give its ruling about 30 minutes before the documentary's planned release to a global audience on Friday.
Bester was convicted in 2012 for the rape and murder of his model girlfriend Nomfundo Tyhulu.
A year earlier, he was found guilty of raping and robbing two other women.
Bester became known as the 'Facebook rapist' for using the social networking site to lure his victims.
He was serving a life sentence when he allegedly escaped from a maximum security prison in 2022.
A fire broke out in prison, with the authorities finding a charred body that they thought was Bester's. However, it turned out to be that of another person.
Undetected for a year, Bester then allegedly lived under an alias in South Africa's main city, Johannesburg, helped by his partner.
The pair were arrested while on the run in the East African state of Tanzania in April 2023 and were deported.
They are currently in custody, awaiting trial on several charges - including violating a corpse, defeating the ends of justice, and fraud.
Bester's lawyer, Advocate Moafrika Wa Maila, said the documentary infringed his right to a fair trial.
There is not proof that he had escaped. He has not yet been convicted on this. The documentary is a kangaroo court, he told the court.
Netflix's legal representative defended the documentary, stating it gave victims a long-denied platform and that silencing the film would silence them again.
Judge Sulet Potterill questioned Netflix on the timing for the release, indicating her ruling would precede the documentary's airing.
Bester's alleged escape has made international headlines and sparked outrage in South Africa, a country with one of the highest rates of sexual assault globally.
