The third day of testimony in the disappearance case of six-year-old Joshlin Smith brought new twists and heightened tensions inside a makeshift Western Cape High Courtroom at the White City Multipurpose Centre.
Day 3 of the Joshlin Smith trial: Here’s what happened today
Three individuals—Kelly Smith (Joshlin’s mother), Jacquen Appollis, and Steveno van Rhyn—stand accused in Joshlin’s February 2024 disappearance, with each providing conflicting accounts of what happened on that day.
A slow start and a surprising reprimand
The State opened Day 3 by calling its second witness, Constable Luzuko Kobese, one of the first officers on the scene the night Joshlin was reported missing.
Early on, Judge Nathan Erasmus grew impatient with repetitive details about timeline and location, striking portions of Kobese’s evidence as “a waste of time.”
The judge reminded prosecutors that such testimony should have been clarified well in advance.
This no-nonsense tone set the day’s mood: neither side was spared from strict procedural scrutiny, and both the State and defence teams felt the judge’s frustration over perceived delays and irrelevancies.
Once the State concluded its examination, defence attorneys seized their chance to test Kobese’s recollection.
Jacquen’s Lawyer
After requesting a brief adjournment to sort out technical issues, counsel for Appollis zeroed in on discrepancies in Kobese’s written account.
The lawyer pointed out two versions of a statement Kobese had submitted, highlighting minor contradictions about street names and exact times.
Although these inconsistencies exposed potential flaws in how police records were kept, they did not directly implicate Kobese in any deliberate misrepresentation of events.
Steveno’s Lawyer
Initially reluctant to cross-examine Kobese, Nobahle Mkabayi changed her mind at the last minute, grilling the officer on crucial details of Joshlin’s disappearance.
This session quickly became heated. Mkabayi’s “excitement” and occasional misquoting of earlier testimony drew repeated objections; Judge Erasmus intervened to bar several lines of questioning as inadmissible or leading.
Despite the aggressive approach, nothing so far has fundamentally undermined the State’s case, which still hinges on the alleged involvement of all three accused.
Kelly’s Defence Highlights Identical Statements
The day’s pivotal moment came when Rinesh Sivnarain, counsel for Kelly Smith, had Kobese confirm that his statement and that of Constable Yanga Gongotha were “almost identical.”
Kobese conceded it was possible they wrote their reports together or in each other’s presence, especially since both officers shared information at the time.
Judge Erasmus promptly halted the exchange, making it clear that any evidence of coordinated or improperly influenced statements could weaken their admissibility.
If defence lawyers successfully argue that the constables merely copied each other’s observations, the State risks losing a key eyewitness account of Kelly’s behaviour shortly after Joshlin went missing.
Station commander’s brief appearance
With much of Kobese’s testimony complete, the State introduced a third witness: the local station commander,
Testifying about the logistical challenges on 20 February 2024, the first official day police got involved in the search for the then-six-year-old, he described the community searches, the involvement of a sniffer dog, and practical obstacles like inclement weather and loadshedding.
He also mentioned collaborating with the Saldanha Bay mayor to protect bystanders, including children and the elderly, while operations continued.
Judge Erasmus, it’s worth noting, temporarily granted prosecutors permission to omit the station commander from being filmed by cameras but vowed to return to this ruling on Thursday morning.
The commander’s testimony will resume on Day 4, and a provisional site visit to the search area has been approved pending final arrangements.
Conflicting plea statements and allegations of torture
Before Kobese took the stand in the morning, the defence had entered plea explanations into the record, revealing wide-ranging inconsistencies:
- Kelly Smith maintains that Joshlin did not attend school the day she vanished because her uniform was dirty. Kelly claims she left for work in the morning, returned briefly at lunchtime—when she and Jacquen allegedly smoked drugs—then came back home at 17:00 to find Joshlin missing.
- Jacquen Appollis recounts a different timeline involving Joshlin taking a bath and leaving to play at 14:00. He later went to buy drugs while neighbours and Kelly searched for the child, only returning after 22:00 when the police were already on the scene.
- Steveno van Rhyn presented the most startling narrative, alleging that Lourentia Lombaard—originally accused but now a State witness under an immunity deal—was the last person he saw with Joshlin. He claims Laurentia led Joshlin away from Jacquen’s shack, supposedly instructing the child to check on her baby at Laurentia’s house.
Both Jacquen and Steveno also allege they were tortured by police into making false confessions, describing kidnappings, assaults, suffocation attempts with plastic bags and other forms of ill-treatment.
These serious claims, if substantiated, could further undermine the legitimacy of any statements obtained from them.
Thus far, Day 3 of the trial revolved around the crucial question of police testimony credibility.
The possibility that Constables Kobese and Gongotha may have collaborated on their statements introduces a significant vulnerability in the State’s case, particularly concerning Kelly’s allegedly suspicious demeanour.
For now, the judge has not ruled on whether these statements could be excluded; however, his strong reaction to the similarities leaves open the possibility that the defence could move to have them deemed inadmissible.
Equally compelling is the spotlight on Lourentia Lombaard. Steveno’s version implicates her as the last adult to see Joshlin, casting doubt on her immunity deal and any testimony she provides.
Her upcoming appearance in court—where she is expected to face cross-examination—may prove pivotal, especially given the conflicting stories about who last saw Joshlin alive.
With the station commander set to continue his testimony, a potential visit to the scene being arranged, and the defence preparing deeper challenges to the police record, Day 4 promises another wave of revelations.
