What happened to Alison Botha?

Alison Botha is widely regarded as an icon in her hometown of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The motivational speaker has a story that would be considered miraculous by many, and which she has used to inspire people all over the world for the last three decades. 

Botha recently had some concerning health issues, so it is a good time to revisit her inspiring story and look into her current health. She’s helped change tons of lives, and uses her platform to encourage and inspire many, particularly young women and girls.

Warning: The rest of this article contains details of graphic sexual assault and gender-based violence.

The chilling story of Alison Botha

Leading up to the night that changed Alison Botha’s life, she had lived very mundanely. She grew up with her mother and brother after her parents got divorced when she was a child. As a teenager attending The Collegiate High School for Girls in Port Elizabeth, she had served as head girl. After graduating university, Botha began working as an insurance broker in her home town of Port Elizabeth.

Alison Botha just 27 years old when her entire life changed in 1994. It was a regular night, and Botha had spent the day with friends at the beach and then at her home. After their outing, she decided to drop them back home. She had just dropped off the last of her friends, and was about to step out of her car when a man stopped her at knifepoint. 

The man forced himself into her car, making her move to the passenger seat and told her that he wanted to borrow her car. However, his intentions were even more sinister. He first picked up a friend, then drove her car to a secluded part of town. Botha’s abductors were later identified as Frans du Tout and Theuns Kruger, whom the police referred to as the “Ripper Rapists.”

Once they arrived on the outskirts of town, near a bush, Botha knew that she was in trouble. The men asked if she would fight and, resigned to her fate, Botha confirmed that she wouldn’t. Both men brutally raped her and attempted to kill her afterwards. They initially tried to suffocate her, but after Botha wouldn’t pass out, they proceeded to stab her over 35 times in her abdomen. When her leg still twitched after this attack, the men took it even further and slashed her throat at least 16 times.

Believing there was no way anyone could survive this, du Tout and Kruger left Botha for dead at Schoenmakerskop, a remote village on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth. However, Botha miraculously did survive. Holding her own guts in her body and her nearly decapitated head in place, she painstakingly crawled to the road where she was found by Tiaan Eilerd, a veterinary student who was driving by. Eilerd was able to administer some quick first aid and rush Botha to the hospital where, despite all odds, she survived. 

Botha’s attackers were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1997, but were both released on parole on July 4 2023. Botha, who has previously objected to her attackers being released, was only informed of their upcoming parole a month in advance. 

Where is Alison Botha now?

Alison Botha has spent her life since her attack motivating people in similar situations to hers and educating the public on the dangers of violence against women. Botha traveled around the world, sharing her story and inspiring people with her resilience. Her career has centered around helping survivors come forward and cope with the trauma of their experiences. 

While Botha has carried out her motivational career healthily for the last three decades, the public speaker had some health issues recently. On Sept. 25 2024, she had an aneurysm and had to undergo brain surgery. The surgery, which took place in Cape Town, involved draining some fluid that had built up in her brain and was performed successfully. After this, she was transported to Gqeberha, where she has continued to receive an onslaught of emotional and financial support from the citizens of South Africa.

Alison Botha has written two books and had a documentary about her story made, simply named Alison. She is also the mother of two sons, whom she is very proud of as her attackers had evidently attempted to take that function away from her when stabbing her abdomen. 

Botha has continued to share health updates on her Facebook page, with the most recent update saying she was moved to a specialist clinic following her hospitalization. She was rushed back to the hospital on November 19 after some complications, but is still fighting on.