The rape of Alison Botha gripped the nation in 1994 and the fact that her rapists have now been released has sent many into outrage
Tears, the gender-based violence advocacy foundation said that it was outraged at the news of the paroling of the convicted rapists.
Mara Glennie, CEO and founder of Tears said, “This is not just about Alison; this is about all the Alisons out there. It’s about the women and children who do not have a voice,” says Glennie “These two men committed a heinous crime and they should never have been eligible for parole.”
It should be noted that Botha was raped and stabbed and her throat was slit in Gqeberha in 1994 by the perpetrators who left her for dead.
Botha was able to walk to a road nearby and get help.
The two individuals who were convicted of the acts were Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger.
The Correctional Services Department released the convicts last week after serving 28 years in prison.
According to Tears, the pair have been admitted into the system of community corrections, whereby they are expected to comply with a specific set of parole conditions and will be subjected to supervision for the rest of their natural lives.
PAROLE ISSUES
Tears argue that the issue of parole in South Africa is fraught with controversy.
“After the 2018 #Totalshutdown movement’s march on the JSE, which threatened to shut South Africa down if the government continued to fail to take GBVF seriously, President Cyril Ramaphosa promised that “life means life” for those who are sentenced to life imprisonment for violent crimes against women and children. This is clearly not the reality. Convicted rapists continue to be released on parole, and the system is continuously failing our rape and abuse victims,” adds Glennie.
Tears goes on to add that crime victims are entitled to object in person or in writing at the parole hearings of their offenders, but there seems to be a significant flaw in this process.
“Alison was only informed by the Department of Correctional Services of one of her attackers' release, and the release of the other came as a huge shock to her. At the time of the crime, the one rapist was already out on bail for raping a pregnant woman, when the Parole Board gets it wrong, the consequences can be fatal,” concludes Glennie.
This is a developing story...
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