Bulelwa Hoala

Minister of Correctional Services, Dr Pieter Groenewald announced on Tuesday that he has cancelled parole for convicted criminals Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger.
Du Toit and Kruger were both serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for the brutal attack of Alison Botha in 1994.
“This decision follows thorough evaluation and consultation of legal opinions. This decision was made in accordance with the Correctional Services Act, which empowers the Minister to cancel parole for individuals sentenced to life imprisonment.
“The Minister’s primary consideration is the imperative of protecting and securing the community, particularly in instances where acts of violence against women and children have been committed,” the Ministry of Correctional Services said on Tuesday.
EWN reports that Botha has said she feels “relieved” after her attackers were sent back to prison.
In 1994, du Toit and Kruger abducted Botha outside her apartment in Port Elizabeth (now known as Gqeberha).
They drove her to a secluded nature reserve where they brutally raped and stabbed her before leaving her for dead.
She was almost decapitated and severely disemboweled.
Alison managed to write the names of her attackers on the sand before she bravely crawled to the road.
She was found by a passing motorist and rushed to the hospital where she miraculously survived.
Du Toit and Kruger were subsequently handed life sentences in the Gqeberha High Court in August 1995.
However, in July 2023 du Toit and Kruger, who had spent 29 years in jail, were both released on parole without Botha’s knowledge.
As a result, in September 2024, Alison tragically suffered a brain aneurysm and had to get brain surgery to stop the haemorrhage and relieve the fluid build-up on her brain.
She was admitted to a public hospital in Cape Town and had to be air lifted to Gqeberha for rehabilitation and recovery.
According to the Ministry of Correctional Services, both du Toit and Kruger have been reincarcerated and will remain in custody.
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