A celebrity doctor and a convicted killer are the subjects of this strange new docuseries. Where is Thabo Bester now? Inside the bizarre true story of Netflix's

A celebrity doctor and a convicted killer are the subjects of this strange new docuseries.

Where is Thabo Bester now? Inside the bizarre true story of Netflix's Beauty and the Bester

A celebrity doctor and a convicted killer are the subjects of this strange new docuseries.

By Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn is a former editor at **. He left EW in 2023.

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September 17, 2025 1:00 p.m. ET

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Nandipha Magudumana and Thabo Bester, as seen in Netflix's 'Beauty and the Bester'. Credit:

- *Beauty and the Bester* tracks the strange relationship between a celebrity doctor and a convicted criminal dubbed the "Facebook rapist."

- Scams, charred corpses, and prison escapes make up a true story that's stranger than fiction.

- The three-part docuseries is now streaming on Netflix.

Celebrity, scams, charred corpses, and prison escapes — it sounds like the stuff of fiction, but Netflix's *Beauty and the Bester* is all too real.

The streamer's three-part docuseries, directed by Anthony Molyneaux, unpacks the bizarre tale of Nandipha Magudumana, a celebrity doctor in South Africa whose life became** **entwined with Thabo Bester, a convicted murderer known as the "Facebook rapist."

Below, we unpack the documentary's enigmatic subjects, their crimes, and where they are now.**

Who is Nandipha Magudumana?

Nandipha Magudumana, as seen on 'Beauty and the Bester'.

Nandipha Magudumana, née Sekeleni, was born in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa in 1989. After graduating from medical school, Magudumana found success specializing in dermatology, plastic surgery, and pharmaceuticals, per the *South African*.

In 2017, she founded Optimum Medical Aesthetics Solutions, a Johannesburg-based clinic that serviced a number of high-profile clients, including a former Miss Universe, Zozibini Tunzi.

According to her Instagram page, Magudumana was lauded frequently in the media, being cited by the *Mail & Guardian* and Southern African Development Community as one of the country's most exciting young leaders.

In 2013, she married Dr. Mkhuseli Magudumana. They share two daughters.

The BBC reports that Magudumana first met Thabo Bester in 2006, and that she began to visit him in prison around 2017.

Who is Thabo Bester?

Thabo Bester, as seen on 'Beauty and the Bester'.

Thabo Bester, the oldest of four children, was born in Johannesburg in 1986, per the *Sunday Times*.

In 2012, Bester was sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of model Nomfundo Tyhulu. According to CNN, he was previously found guilty of the rape and robbery of two other women whom he reportedly lured to his home using social media. Due to his crimes, he was dubbed the "Facebook rapist" by South African media outlets.

As reported by GroundUp, Bester was involved in a lucrative scam while behind bars by posing as the chairman of 21st Century Media, a sham media and events company that claimed to be a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. The company raised the hackles of Hollywood stars like Halle Berry and Taraji P. Henson after advertising them as speakers at a 2018 "Women in Media" conference that never took place.

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On May 3, 2022, the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) reported that Bester was found dead in his cell at the Mangaung private prison in Bloemfontein, a city in the Free State province of South Africa. Per authorities, Bester's body was burned beyond recognition.

According to GroundUp, Magudumana attempted to claim Bester's body, declaring herself to be Bester's "customary law wife," despite her still being in a civil marriage.**

GroundUp investigated the death for the better part of a year. In January 2023, they shared details from a leaked report in which Bester was declared to have died from "head injuries" and not the blaze. "Consequently, the docket relating to the matter was amended from suicide to murder," the report reads.

Two months later, the DCS released a statement confirming that Bester had escaped from prison and that the body in his cell was not his. This came soon after GroundUp published photos of someone who resembled Bester shopping at a Woolworths with Magudumana a month after his alleged death.**

Whose body was found in Thabo Bester's cell?

In April 2023, the BBC reported that the body in Bester's cell belonged to Katlego Bereng Mpholo, a father of two. His own father, Batho Mpholo, claimed he was told by police that his son had collapsed in Bloemfontein and died in a hospital, a story he disputes. After being told his son had been taken to a mortuary, he and his relatives were unable to find him.

To this day, nobody knows how Mpholo ended up in Bester's cell.**

What happened to Nandipha Magudumana and Thabo Bester?

Nandipha Magudumana and Thabo Bester after being arrested, as seen in 'Beauty and the Bester'.

After Bester escaped from prison, he allegedly ran a scam construction company called Arum Properties with Dr. Magudumana. According to GroundUp, they "convinced several people to pay millions of rands for construction projects, but never delivered the goods." They reportedly operated out of a mansion in the Sandton area of Johannesburg.**

Following media reports of Bester's escape, the couple fled South Africa by car in April 2023. They were apprehended in Tanzania and transported back to South Africa by the authorities.

The pair were hit with several charges, including violating a corpse, defeating the ends of justice, and fraud, per the BBC. Both Dr. Magudumana and her father, Zolile Sekeleni, are accused of aiding and abetting Bester's escape.**

Where are Nandipha Magudumana and Thabo Bester now?

Thabo Bester, as seen on 'Beauty and the Bester'.

Though it's unclear if Magudumana and Bester are still romantically linked, the pair petitioned a South African court to halt Netflix's *Beauty and the Bester*, declaring it defamatory and asserting that it infringed their right to a fair trial, per the BBC. The court rejected their bid.

Magudumana and Bester have also sought to stop the release of a South African docuseries about the case and a book by GroundUp reporters Marecia Damons and Daniel Steyn, titled *The Thabo Bester Story: The Facebook Rapist, the Celebrity Doctor and the Escape from Cell 35*. Both attempts failed.

Currently, Magudumana is in custody and awaiting trial, which has been delayed several times. She has not pleaded to the charges. According to *Beauty and the Bester*, she faces more than 10 years in prison if convicted. She refused an interview request from the documentary's producers.

Per the docuseries, Bester has "returned to serve his life sentence." He has not pleaded to the latest charges against him.**

Where can I watch Beauty and the Bester?

*Beauty and the Bester *is now streaming on Netflix.

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