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Jacquen Appollis takes the stand in Joshlin Smith trial, alleging police torture

Jacquen Appollis takes the stand in Joshlin Smith trial, alleging police torture
Kelly Smith leaves court sick, during day 25 of the Joshlin Smith trial on 8 April 2025 in Saldanha Bay. (Photo: Gallo Images/Brenton Geach)
Vincent Cruywagen
By Vincent Cruywagen
11 Apr 2025
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Appollis claims that before his statement, he was allegedly tortured by police and a black bag placed over his head to elicit a confession in the Joshlin Smith case.

Jacquen Appollis took the stand in the Joshlin Smith trial on Friday, 11 April, during the trial-within-a-trial to provide his account of how he gave his statement to police in the weeks after the then six-year-old went missing. He alleges that police used violence and coercion.

Judge Nathan Erasmus must rule on the admissibility of his statement and whether it was obtained lawfully. Appollis faces charges of kidnapping and human trafficking alongside his girlfriend and Joshlin’s mother Racquel “Kelly” Smith and their friend Steveno van Rhyn.

Van Rhyn is also challenging the admissibility of his statement to police.

Appollis and Van Rhyn’s statements, made in the early hours of 5 March 2024, in the Sea Border Office in Saldanha Bay, both implicate Smith and allege that they took Joshlin to meet a person called “Makalima” on 19 February 2024, the day Joshlin went missing. 

On Tuesday, 8 April 2025, Van Rhyn claimed that what was contained in his statement was not his account and that police had told him what to say.

On Friday, 4 April 2025, Appollis’s counsel advocate, Fanie Harmse, informed the court that the claims made by his client in his statement did not emanate from his own knowledge.

The police have denied claims of alleged coercion and torture in regard to Appollis and Van Rhyn’s statements. 

Smith did not appear in court on Friday, 11 April. Judge Erasmus informed the court that she had an operation and that because she is not part of the trial-within-a-trial, the proceedings will have no bearing on her.

The state’s case alleges that Smith, Appollis and Van Rhyn sold Joshlin to a sangoma for R20,000. The three have pleaded not guilty.

Read more: Shocking testimony unveils Kelly Smith’s alleged plot to sell six-year-old daughter Joshlin to a sangoma

Appollis denies allegations


Appollis started his testimony on Friday, 11 April by taking the court back to 3 March 2024, when he and Kelly were purportedly taken by men linked to Patriotic Alliance president Gayton Mckenzie to Hoedjiesbaai Hotel, where they stayed overnight.

From there, they were taken by police on 4 March 2024, brought back to the hotel, and later picked up again.

His entire statement from 5 March was then read into the record. On why Appollis made this statement, he replied to the court: “I was scared and I was told I must make this statement.”

Appollis denied the crucial parts in his statement, including that Smith allegedly told him and Van Rhyn to take Joshlin to the supposed sangoma, Makalima; that Smith claimed Makalima was going to pay them R20,000; and that he and Van Rhyn took Joshlin to Makalima’s house. 

Appollis repeated some of the evidence heard in court previously, wherein he accused the police of torture. He claimed a black plastic bag was placed over his head and that he was cuffed and repeatedly assaulted by police officers.

“Before the black bag was placed over my head, I remember a Xhosa police officer asked me if I knew Jesus. When I said yes, he pulled the plastic bag over my head.

“There were about four to five officers in the room at the Sea Border Office where I was questioned. One asked me if I can remember what happened on Monday, 19 February 2024. When I explained to him what happened… they said I’m taking rubbish and today I will die,” he told the court.

Despite these torture claims, a Colonel Edward Clark, attached to the Western Cape Serious and Violent Crimes Unit, and Dr Hendrik Nel, who examined Appollis on 5 March, have both testified that the two accused, Appollis and Van Rhyn, had no apparent injuries indicating any sort of torture.

Kelly Smith leaves court sick, during day 25 of the Joshlin Smith trial on 8 April 2025 in Saldanha Bay. (Photo: Gallo Images/Brenton Geach)


Prosecution grills Appollis


On Friday, state prosecutor Aradhana Heeramun questioned why Appollis hadn’t mentioned his injuries to Legal Aid when they represented him in his first appearance in the Vredenburg Magistrates Court on 7 March 2024.

“At that stage I was scared and the same officers who allegedly assaulted me, transported me to court,” he said.

Read more: How police ploy to coax info from Joshlin Smith kidnap accused cracked the case

The court heard Appollis only reported the alleged police torture to his legal representative during his second appearance.

“I told the Legal Aid lawyer I was assaulted and he allegedly told me I must wait till the matter is referred to the High Court,” he told the court on Friday.

The court also heard that Appollis did not open a case of police brutality. The prosecutor questioned why he hadn’t mentioned the alleged police brutality, despite him giving interviews and his supposed closeness to the likes of Gayton McKenzie, who has a huge social media following. 

“The improbability of something that you said happened to you the way it happened to you is false,” Heeramun argued.

Admissibility can make or break case


At the conclusion of the trial-within-the-trial, Judge Erasmus will also evaluate the video recordings of the statements taken.

The video depicts the circumstances under which these statements were given, whether the accused were weary, whether any signs of alleged torture were obvious, and whether their rights were properly conveyed to them.

On Thursday, 10 April 2025, Judge Erasmus highlighted the significance of the trial-within-a-trial when he said: “This is an important part of the case; the admissibility of the statements can make or break this case one way or the other.”

Van Rhyn is set to take the stand later on Friday afternoon and be cross-examined by the state, followed by arguments on the admissibility of the statements, the claimed torture, and whether the testimonies were obtained lawfully. DM

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