Jani Allan

Jani Allan
Allan in 2010
Born(1952-09-11)11 September 1952
Union of South Africa
(now South Africa)
Died25 July 2023(2023-07-25) (aged 70)
Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Citizenship
  • South Africa
  • United States
EducationUniversity of the Witwatersrand
Occupation(s)Journalist, broadcaster, author
Employers
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1982⁠–⁠1984)​
Dr Peter Kulish
​
​
(m. 2002⁠–⁠2005)​
Partners

Jani Allan (11 September 1952 – 25 July 2023) was a South African journalist, columnist, writer, broadcaster, and media personality.[1]

In 1980, Allan became a columnist for a centrist newspaper, the Sunday Times, South Africa's most widely circulating weekly newspaper. She published columns such as Just Jani, Jani Allan's Week, and Face to Face. In 1987, Allan was the top choice in a newspaper commissioned Gallup poll collecting data on "The most admired person in South Africa".[2] In 2015, Marianne Thamm of the Daily Maverick described Allan as having been "the most influential writer and columnist in the country."[3]

Allan later became the subject of press interest over the nature of her relationship with an interview subject, Eugène Terre'Blanche. Allan denied allegations of an affair and took an injunction out against Terre'Blanche. Allan left South Africa when her apartment was bombed in 1989. Allan sued and won damages from two British publications that repeated the affair allegations. She filed a libel suit against Channel 4 over Nick Broomfield's documentary, The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife. Broomfield denied raising affair allegations and a team of witnesses was flown in from South Africa to support both sides. Allan lost the suit, with the judge declining to state that anyone had lied in court.

After a brief stint working at her newspaper's London bureau, she began writing freelance columns for British publications and published a regular column for Scope. She returned to South Africa in 1996, publishing a sponsored web column and presenting a radio show on Cape Talk. After an extended break she returned to the South African media frame in 2013. In 2014, Allan made headlines around the world after publishing an open letter to accused murderer Oscar Pistorius. Jacana Media published Allan's memoirs, Jani Confidential, on 16 March 2015. She continued to write on a freelance basis for South African publications such as Rapport, the Daily Maverick, Fair Lady and The Big Issue South Africa. She also wrote occasionally for The Epoch Times and RT (formerly Russia Today), the Russian broadcaster and news agency. Allan lived in the United States from 2001 until her death from cancer in 2023.[1][4][5][6]

  1. ^ a b "The return of Jani Allan". The Mail & Guardian. 4 October 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  2. ^ "A tragic figure in spite of high life". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  3. ^ Thamm, Marianne (6 April 2015). "Jani Allan, white South Africa's brittle fall girl – a cautionary tale". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference dea was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "'We have lost a phenomenal writer': Columnist, journalist Jani Allan dies", News24.com. 26 July 2023.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference teljani was invoked but never defined (see the help page).