NB Publishers, GroundUp News, and multiple booksellers were served with a letter of demand on Friday afternoon by the law firm Loubser and Loubser Inc, representing convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester, along with the alleged accomplice in his escape, Nandipha Magudumana.
In the letter, Bester’s attorneys requested a digital copy of a new 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, by close of business on Tuesday, 10 October.
The letter also states that if NB Publishers does not provide a digital copy, Thabo Bester and Nandipa Magudumana will initiate an urgent court application to prevent the publication of the book.
Bester escaped from prison in May 2022, allegedly by faking his own death, and Magudumana faces multiple charges in connection with Bester’s escape. Currently, both are in custody, with Bester at Kgosi Mampuru Prison in Gauteng and Magudumana at Kokstad Prison in KwaZulu-Natal.
According to the letter, neither “our client nor Dr Magudumana have granted the right, permission or authority to any party to write and/or publish the book. We also place on record that there were no personal interviews held with our client or Dr Magudumana, which raises imminent concerns regarding the accuracy and correctness of the version which stands to be published soon.”
According to Loubser and Loubser Inc, Bester wants to “avoid being prosecuted in and by the media before the matter is concluded in the normal cause [sic] of the legal processes”.
According to Loubser and Loubser Inc, Bester wants to “avoid being prosecuted in and by the media before the matter is concluded in the normal cause [sic] of the legal processes”.
News24 asked for comment by GroundUp, NB Publishers said it “fundamentally disagrees with the startling claim that authors are required to obtain prior permission from the subject of a book on current affairs and maintain that all the standard protocols were followed in the compilation of the book”.
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