The woman who refused to be a victim, Alison Botha, fights for her life a second time

Alison Botha became a national symbol as one of the first rape survivors publicly to identify herself in South Africa after her attackers, Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger, abducted and gang raped her in 1994 before repeatedly slitting her throat and disembowelling her.

In speaking out, she erased the stigma and shame which surrounded rape at the time, leading many women to suffer in silence across the globe. 

Alison became an international embodiment of resilience and has been the recipient globally of many accolades and awards for her strength.

Her assailants had left her for dead on Schoenmakerskop, a remote beach outside Gqeberha (then Port Elizabeth) and her miraculous will to survive led to the publication of her book, I Have Life – Alison’s Journey, which this writer was privileged to have ghostwritten in 1997.

It went on to be a South African bestseller with more than 95,000 copies sold and went into several reprints to reach millions across the globe. The book has been translated into multiple languages and Alison’s horror and triumph were turned into an award-winning 2016 documentary by Uga Carlini, simply titled Alison.

Chris Jansen, the judge who originally sentenced Du Toit (who received three life sentences and Kruger who received one life sentence plus 25 years) said both men should be removed from society “for the rest of their lives”.

“I was at the scene where she was assaulted. She crawled naked on a dirt road to the tarmac where she lay down, then two cars stopped by her. The first driver just looked at her like that and then drove off and the second one helped her.”

Having left a mutilated Alison for dead, they were surprised to learn during their arrest soon afterwards that she had lived. The two men were buttering bread with the knife they had used to disembowel Alison and were planning to abduct and murder another victim later that day.

They were both out on bail for similar offences.

Medical aftermath

Two weeks ago, Alison suffered a brain aneurysm.

She has been in high care at a public hospital since she has no medical aid and is unable to earn an income at present.

A trust account has been established in Alison’s name to cover the current and considerable costs she is bound to face. The account has been established by well-wishers and will be managed by Alison’s legal team and other professionals who have stepped forward.

(Donations can be made to Nedbank Trust Account No 1302230492. For international donations, include SWIFT code NEDSZAJJ.)

As Alison, now in her 50s, grew older and after the birth of her two “miracle” sons, her physical health deteriorated.

She has suffered with, at times, debilitating medical problems as a direct result of the injuries she sustained during her vicious attack by Du Toit and Kruger.

The real price for Alison of being a survivor is the “unseen” pain that remains within the aching scars, permanent reminders of the horror as well as living with the ongoing agony of her rearranged innards.

To be a survivor is a burden, to always be “OK” is hard work … and when Alison needed help she did not reach out. 

No one has compensated her for the fact that the two men who attacked her were out on bail on serious GBV charges and that they are now free after serving 30 years.

Parole terror

Du Toit and Kruger were freed on parole in July 2023. Alison received a phone call to inform her about Du Toit’s impending release while she learnt of Kruger’s in the media.

The survivor had actively fought every one of their attempts at freedom. Yet this time she received the call notifying her of Du Toit’s release as a fait accompli.

She was not consulted despite having been registered with the Department of Correctional Services and thus could not offer objections. A formal application for review of the Minister’s decision has subsequently been launched in the Gauteng Local Division.

At the time, Tania Koen, Alison’s legal representative, told News24 that Alison had felt “disillusioned and terrified” at the release of her rapist attackers.

In 2016, at a reunion of all the players who stepped in to save Alison’s life that night, she told Riaan Marais of The Herald that “the attack has put me on this path where I get to travel the world and help inspire other people”.

Alison has been invited to 35 countries to share her story.

“I love seeing the reactions from different people when they watch the movie, the way people come to me afterwards and tell me what it meant to them.”

What surprised her most was the way many men reacted to her story, with many unable to read her book or sit through the film.

“I think many men take it personally, or they feel guilty about what other men did to me. But I want to tell them it is not necessary. There are more good men than bad men out there,” Botha said. DM

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To donate to the Trust Fund:

Tania Koen Attorneys
Nedbank Trust Account No 1302230492.
For international donations, include SWIFT code NEDSZAJJ.