Woman who was disemboweled, raped and nearly decapitated during horrific South African attack features in true crime podcast 30 years after attack
A South African woman who was abducted, disemboweled, raped, and nearly decapitated has written a book detailing her horrific ordeal.
Alison Botha was just 27 when she was subjected to a sickening attack that left her having to hold onto her intestines as her partially-decapitated head 'flopped backwards and almost rested between [her] shoulder blades.'
She was working as an insurance broker when, on December 18, 1994, after spending an evening with friends, she drove home to her apartment in Port Elizabeth.
Alison had just parked her car and was reaching to the passenger seat to get her laundry when the nightmare began.
She recalled how a blonde man pushed his way into her vehicle and left her frozen with fear.
Frans Du Toit, a police officer's son, threatened to kill her, stating he didn't mean any harm but needed to use the car for an hour.
In a desperate attempt to build a rapport with her kidnapper, Alison offered him the vehicle.
But he insisted he 'wanted company', according to Morbid, a true crime podcast, citing her book I Have Life: Alison's Journey.
After travelling a distance from the town, Du Toit passed by a crowd of people on the street twice, his eyes scanning for one individual - Theuns Kruger.
The short man, who was dressed entirely in black, approached the driver's side and climbed into the car.
Du Toit, who had introduced himself under the false name 'Clinton', adjusted the driver's seat forward as Kruger got in, introducing Alison (who was also using a pseudonym) as his friend Susan.
The journey to a suburb outside Port Elizabeth was eerily quiet until the deafening silence was broken by Du Toit declaring 'Theuns doesn't speak good English.'
Approaching a wooded area, Du Toit slowed down and parked on the sand.
Kruger exited the car and 'Clinton' proceeded to rape Alison.
Kruger began to assault her too but abruptly stopped, exclaiming, 'No I can't do this' inadvertently shouting 'Frans' at his accomplice. Alison committed this name to memory.
Frans then warned Alison, 'If we take you into town now you'll go to the police.'
Du Toit then asked a terrifying question, saying: 'What do you think Oom Nick would want us to do with her.'
Oom Nick is an Afrikaans reference to Satan.
Kruger responded: 'I think he wants us to kill her.'
The evil duo forced Alison to remove her rings and clothes before Du Toit strangled her until she passed out.
Disturbingly, Alison remembered Du Toit apologising to her in the moments before she lost consciousness.
She then woke up surrounded by rubbish before she saw a man's arm slashing in front of her eyes and came to the terrifying realisation that he was cutting her throat.
Alison has described the horrifying moment she 'could hear the flesh slit' in her book.
It was later determined the men slit her throat 16 times, and Alison was nearly decapitated.
The attack then stopped abruptly and Alison managed to turn over on to her front.
She remembered: 'I tried to hold my breath, but I realised I had no control over my breathing - I moved my hand up to cover my neck - my whole hand disappeared into it, but it seemed to have worked - the sound was silenced.'
Pretending to be dead, she heard one assailant ask if she was deceased with the other replying 'no one can survive that'.
Holding on to hope that her attackers would face justice, Alison scrawled her attackers' names in the sand, adding 'I love mom.'
She then spotted some lights and realised she was closer to the road than she initially thought.
Alison managed to muster enough strength to push herself up to her knees before she touched her stomach and felt something 'tepid, wet and slimy'.
Looking down, she was confronted with the disturbing sight of her intestines hanging out from a gaping wound.
Alison added: 'My head had flopped backwards and almost rested between my shoulder blades. I expected to feel something but was completely taken aback when my hand disappeared inside me almost like I had swallowed myself.'
With one hand holding her head stable and the other on her stomach wound she managed to reach the middle of the road, where she lay horizontally to force drivers to stop.
Despite desperately waving for help, the first car swerved to avoid her.
But eventually a woman and a young man came to her rescue.
It was 2.45 am by the time she was found - meaning the time period between her abduction and her discovery had taken only an hour and a half.
It was Tiaan Eilerd, a vet, who stumbled across Alison that evening.
Tiaan was shocked that Alison was still alive, describing her as a 'creature straight out of a Dickens novel' with her neck split open 'almost ear to ear'.
Alison's intestines had been stabbed multiple times, and her abdominal muscles were badly damaged.
She later revealed that one of the men told her they were intentionally trying to mutilate her reproductive organs.
However, miraculously, she went on to have two children.
After hours of surgery, Alison was transferred to the ICU.
As news of her attack spread, police discovered that the pair were already on bail for rape.
Both men claimed to be Satanists and pleaded guilty to kidnapping, rape, and attempted murder.
Du Toit had raped another woman but said the 'urge to kill her had passed' after he raped her.
Both men were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in 1995.
When there was a chance the law might change in 2012, Alison said: 'Can you imagine if just 100 lifers were reintroduced to society without rehabilitation.'
Her campaigning efforts were instrumental in ensuring that such prisoners remained behind bars.
But, on July 4, 2023, Du Toit and Kruger, who had served only 28 years of their life sentence, were granted parole without anyone notifying Alison.
On her Facebook page, Alison expressed her shock: 'The day I hoped and prayed would never come. When I was asked 'How will you feel if they ever get parole?' – my immediate answer was always – 'I'm hoping I'll never find out'.'
Alison has bravely recounted her harrowing ordeal and remarkable survival through her book I Have Life and the 2016 documentary film Alison.
She has also tirelessly spoken to hundreds of people, inspiring others by sharing how attitude, belief, and choice helped her survive.
Recognised for her incredible courage, Alison was given the prestigious Rotary Paul Harris Award for Courage Beyond the Norm.
In the same year she was the first recipient of Femina magazine's Woman of Courage award as well as being chosen as Port Elizabeth's Citizen of the Year.
Upon the release of the movie, Alison said: 'I have always hoped that by sharing my own journey with others, it would give them hope and courage for their own.
'To have my story and ultimate triumph shared on screen would mean that so many more people would see the power of choice that we each have; and might also choose to triumph over life's hardships'.
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BBC News
2 hours ago
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'Dem rape me eight times in seven hours' - Women share terrible experiences from Benue attack
"Di herders storm di area, dem first capture some of us [women] dem keep us for a separate place bifor dem attack and start to shoot and kill di men wey no dey lucky to survive." Na so one survivor from di community, Edikwu Ankpali for Apa local goment area of Benue state, wia suspected herdsmen attack, tell BBC Pidgin. as she tori wetin hapun and her experience. Suspected herdsmen bin attack di community between Sunday June 1st and Monday June 2nd. Dem kill pipo, and now, we dey hear tori from di women wey dem also rape. Ova ten women for dat community tori say dem rape dem, some of dem still dey hospital. Women narrate di emotional and sexual trauma wey dem face for di hands of di attackers. One of di victims tell BBC Pidgin say na eight times dem rape her in di space of seven hours. She say afta dem begin attack some of di men, dem begin gang rape women for di community. "Dem rape me rape eight times before day break, odas 10 times. Di herders reach like 50 in number." She tok. Di youth leader Odogbo Ngbede also tell BBC Pidgin say, "we no know wia our wives dey again", dis na as some of di women still dey miss. Anoda victim say she bin sit down wit her sick elderly father bifor dem come, "dem kill my papa, come carry me go one place to rape me", she tok wit sadness. Di women tell BBC Pidgin say dem dey in pain as dem no fit waka well for days now. Di victims of di rape dey between 35 and 60 years old. ' I lose more dan six of my family members' Madam Sarah (no be her real name) wey run comot from village go di local goment headquarters tell BBC Pidgin say, di suspected herdsmen don pursue her from village like odas too wey dey relocate. She narrate say dem kill her papa wey be elderly man and some of her cousins and until now, dem neva see dia deadibody. She add say like say dem dey alive, dem for don come out from wia dem run go hide for safety. "Dem kill almost all my family members, I no go go back unless goment do sometin to help us. If peace no comeback to my village, I no dey go back. Hunger dey kill us, we no fit go farm again, na outside I dey sleep all dis while, bifor i run comot from di village dem don kill 29 pipo. She say na by di grace of God she survive 'Dem bin tell us say di pipo dey come do peace tok-tok wit us' - Community leader Afta retirement as Deputy Comptroller of Immigration, Mr Eyigege Ikwutole say make im come rest for village. But as di current community leader, di peace wey im find come village don turn to serious attacks and sad stories. Im tok say im no fit imagine say pipo wey dem no get any problem wit go just come enta dia community just to attack, kill pipo and tiff dia tins. "Dem bin tell us say di pipo [suspected herdsmen] dey come do peace tok-tok wit us. So we like peace na why we accept dem, around 3:30 pm, dem enta our community we welcome dem, dem stay wit us and we dey share evritin wit dem, di tins wey we get for house we share wit dem too until around 4:00pm dat same day. 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Im add say na only men wey fit fight dey for di village now, di women and children run go di local goment headquarters to take cover and im no know how di pipo for village dey take survive. As death toll bin dey increase, police bin deploy tactical teams to flash points as army chief bin also visit communities for di state. 'We dey under seige' - Govnor Alia Meanwhile, Benue State Governor Hycinth Alia tok for Channels TV interview say im no dey see di attacks as clash between farmers and herders, again. Im say specialised killers dey involved and terrorists wey dey engage like say na guerrilla war dem dey fight. "Di way dis attacks come and di intel we receive, na direct and calibrated plan and dem go execute am. Evriday, we dey receive dis intel dem. Of late, each of di intel we receive, 60 to 65 per cent of am dey quite accurate. "And den wen you realise wetin dey go on, e dey beyond just conflict, e dey beyond just ethnic fight between herders and farmers for our state, e dey directed, e dey planned and den, dem go execute am, na terrorism." "For some reason, dem no dey eva catch any of dem. Dem dey come for middle of di night, hit and run and nobody dey see any trace. So, na terrorism wey dey eat us up," im tok. Suspected herdsmen attack both residents of Tse-Antswam for Naka town, wey be headquarters of Gwer West LGA and Edikwu Ankpali for Apa local goment area of Benue state between Sunday 1June and Monday 2nd June, 2025. Ova 50 pipo die for di attack and some pipo still dey miss.
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