Cape Town – Alison Botha, who was brutally attacked and raped in 1994, has reportedly expressed shock and anger after her attackers were released from prison on parole on Tuesday.
Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger kidnapped Botha, raped her, and attempted to stab her to death in 1994.
The men were sentenced to life imprisonment but were recently granted parole after serving 28 years behind bars.
This decision has sparked outrage, particularly in the context of South Africa’s pervasive gender-based violence problem.
JUST IN: Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger – who subjected Alison Botha to a near fatal rape and brutal attack in 1994 – have been placed on parole, effective from 4 July 2023. They have spent 28 years in jail.
This is despite her previously begging that they not be released. pic.twitter.com/ogeiCYY66I— Karyn Maughan (@karynmaughan) July 4, 2023
According to Times Live, Misa, the association for which Botha works as a motivational speaker, condemned the parole decision, referring to the crime as one of the most horrific in South African history.
Misa said they were “disgusted and furious with the decision to grant parole to the pair responsible for the attack on Allison Botha, one of the most horrific crimes in South African history”.
“We live in a country where gender-based violence is referred to as a pandemic. Police Minister Bheki Cele admitted that we had lost the war when nearly 1,000 women were murdered and more than 1 500 others assaulted from January to March this year,” the report quoted Martlé Keyter, Misa’s CEO as saying.
Almost three decades after Alison Botha was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, stabbed and left for dead by Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger, the two have now been granted parole. #eNCA #DStv403 #QuestionThinkAct #SouthAfricanMorning pic.twitter.com/Y6fQD0pFHv
— eNCA (@eNCA) July 5, 2023
Botha’s lawyer, Tania Koen, described the news as a series of shocking blows for her client, who received an email notifying her of the imminent release, the report said.
Her survival story was previously detailed in a bestselling book titled “I Have Life.”
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
