Alison Botha on Ekurhuleni murders: ‘We are tired!’

Alison Botha, the South African woman who was kidnapped, brutally raped and disembowelled in an attack more than 30 years ago, has condemned the sexual assault and murder of nine women in Ekurhuleni in recent weeks.

The gender-based violence crimes have sparked fears of a serial killer. This past week, South Africans have rallied together to join the fight against femicide.

ALISON BOTHA REFLECTS ON EKURHULENI MURDERS

In a video posted on her social media platforms, Alison Botha reflected on the murder of nine Ekurhuleni women, who had also been sexually assaulted. 

The disturbing news has brought back the trauma of her own attack in 1994.

She said of the slain women: “Their lives were unfairly taken from them in a brutal way. I was fortunate enough to survive what happened to me. But these women, just like many others in our country, were not so lucky”.

Of her experience, of being raped and left for dead, Alison continued: “I went on to talk about what had happened to me, in the hope that bringing awareness to the situation would help the crisis. But here we are, over 30 years later, and the gender-based violence crisis in our country is no better. In fact, it’s worse”

The Gqeberha women called for drastic, swift action.

She continued: “Where’s the sense of urgency, where’s the action?  We are tired of always having to look over our shoulders everywhere we go. We are tired of having to organise to go out in groups. These kinds of restrictions are not keeping the women of South Africa safe. This is a temporary fix to an ongoing societal problem, and there needs to be a change”.

TO HELL AND BACK

In 2024, Alison Botha suffered a brain aneurysm, caused by the stress that her attackers, Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger, had been given an early release on parole after they kidnapped, raped and left her for dead.

During the 1994 attack, Alison’s throat had been slit. She had also been disembowelled. Miraculously, she survived.

According to Alison’s legal advisors, she was not consulted in the parole process. Instead, she was notified of the men’s release in 2023 by telephone.

Last year, Minister of Correctional Services Pieter Groenewald revoked the parole of Alison Botha’s attackers. Both offenders have been reincarcerated and will remain in custody.

The men were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1995, a year after their brutal attack.

At the time, Pretoria High Court Judge Chris Jansen, who sentenced them, said during his judgement: “I needed to make it clear they were a threat to society and should never be released.”