Showmax has just dropped the trailer for Tracking Thabo Bester, the true-crime documentary South Africa has been asking for ever since the GroundUp interview.
After being spotted at a shopping centre last year, the notorious Facebook rapist became the most searched person in the country after reports came out that he escaped prison.
Alongside his co-accused and partner Dr Nandipha Magudumana, this couple became the true definition of what gangster love is.
This true-crime documentary will have four parts where the first episode follows GroundUp journalists Marecia Damons and Daniel Steyn as they investigate an anonymous tip-off that the burnt body at Mangaung Correctional Centre may not have been Bester. These journalists co-wrote the bestselling book The Thabo Bester Story: The Facebook Rapist, the Celebrity Doctor and the Escape from Cell 35.
The interviews conducted included prisoners, prison warders at Mangaung Correctional Centre; the family of a deceased person, Nandipha’s older brother, and a former police service head profiler. The documentary also shows the media and social media reactions to the story.
Director Nikki Comninos is known for her work Steinheist, Devilsdorp and Murder in Paris, which earned three SAFTA nominations says, “We tend to discuss Thabo Bester like it’s an isolated case but it’s not,” adding that, “Bester has been depicted as some kind of an 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.”
Entertainment commentator Phil Mphela shared the trailer on X (formerly known as Twitter). The trailer received mixed reactions from internet users, with some feeling that it would report on things that the public already knows.
TRAILER:
Tracking Thabo Bester
Four-part investigation documentary looking into the disappearance and subsequent re-arrest of Thabo Bester, as told by journalists who broke and covered the story.
Produced by IdeaCandy (Devilsdorp, Rosemary’s Hitlist, Steinheist) the doccie… pic.twitter.com/uxeFqFgytW
— Kgopolo (@PhilMphela) March 4, 2024
Another user commented:
Only if the main two main characters are interviewed.. and part of the documentary then it will be a cracker ….
— Sandra Boyce (@Sandraboyce19) March 4, 2024
Another user felt that the documentary was rushed given that it didn’t cover the whole stroy.
In my opinion, I would say this was a bit rushed
Probably too soon for the docu cause it might not cover all bases of the story.I understand they wanted to be the first to put the story out but this is a bit too premature.
— Thabisani Ndlovu (@ThabisaniBrian) March 5, 2024
Another user commented:
Boring
— Ndoniyamanzi (@Ndoniyamanzi_b) March 4, 2024
Also see: How two AKA murder suspects allegedly spent their blood money
