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State’s key witness in Joshlin Smith case falls ill under questioning, again

State’s key witness in Joshlin Smith case falls ill under questioning, again
Jacquen Appollis, Steveno van Rhyn and Racquel Smith, the three accused in the trial of missing Joshlin Smith appeared in the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday, 25 March 2025. (Photo: Vincent Cruywagen)
Vincent Cruywagen
By Vincent Cruywagen
25 Mar 2025
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Laurentia Lombaard, State witness in the Joshlin Smith case, fell ill again on the stand on Tuesday – the fourth time she has been taken for treatment by court officials and police.

When State witness Laurentia Lombaard said her head was spinning while under cross-examination on Tuesday, 25 March 2025, Judge Nathan Eramus said she presented health issues when faced with difficult questions. 

“It is not the first time when it came to crunch time that the witness [has] taken ill,” said Erasmus. 

The drama unfolded on the fourth day of Lombaard’s cross-examination in the Western Cape High Court, sitting in the Saldanha Bay Multipurpose Centre. It was the fourth time she had left the stand for treatment.

Medical staff treated Lombaard at the rear of the court. It is unclear at this stage what her medical condition is and whether she will take the stand again on Wednesday. 

After she broke down last week, the court received a doctor’s note to say she could continue testifying. The general practitioner’s assessment has not been released. 

Lombaard complained about dizzy spells on Tuesday while facing questions from Rinesh Sivnarain, the legal representative for Racquel Smith, Joshlin Smith’s mother, who is better known as Kelly. 

Sivnarain was questioning Lombaard about her statement to “Captain Cilliers”, referred to by Lombaard as “the lady with the white hair”, at Saldanha Bay Police Station following her arrest in March 2024.

Lombaard has admitted that elements of her statement were untrue. She told Sivnarain that this was because she distrusted Cilliers and that she was under the influence of drugs. 

Read more: Defence casts doubt on Laurentia Lombaard’s testimony in Joshlin Smith trial

Lombaard’s evidence is critical for the State, particularly on the charge of human trafficking, which could result in the accused receiving a life sentence.

appollis van rhyn smith From left: Jacquen Appollis, Steveno van Rhyn and Racquel Smith, the three accused in the trial over missing Joshlin Smith, in the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday, 25 March 2025. (Photo: Vincent Cruywagen)



Smith, Jacquen Appollis and Stevono van Rhyn face charges of human trafficking for exploitation and kidnapping following Joshlin’s 19 February 2024 disappearance from the Middelpos informal settlement in Saldanha Bay.

The State contends that they “sold, delivered or exchanged” Joshlin. The court heard evidence from Lombaard that Smith allegedly sold Joshlin for R20,000 to a sangoma. Joshlin, who was six years old at the time, remains missing.

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

Lombaard was initially a co-accused with the trio, but turned State witness in a bid to win indemnity.

‘Tik relationship’


Sivnarain’s cross-questioned Lombaard for less than 30 minutes before it was abruptly halted as he was preparing to probe deeper into discrepancies in her confession.

Lombaard briefly explained how her friendship with Kelly developed.

“I became friends with Kelly as soon as I moved into the Middelpos informal settlement. I trusted her and she trusted me. She was very friendly and had a smiling face,” she told the court.

According to Lombaard, their friendship began to disintegrate as a result of reported constant disputes, rudeness and shouting between Smith and Appollis, also known as “Boeta”. Smith, according to Lombaard, became disrespectful to her.

Asked to explain why Smith was allegedly rude to her, she said: “I was once smoking tik in the company of Boeta when he allegedly told me, ‘Kelly is jealous’ of me and suspected that I [was having] an affair with Boeta.”

She told the court, “The relationship between her and Boeta is not a good one, but a tik relationship.”

Despite this, Kelly and Lombaard remained friends until she decided to become a State witness and testify against the accused.

Van Rhyn’s involvement questioned


On Tuesday, Lombaard was also questioned by Nobahle Mkabayi, counsel for Van Rhyn. She also focused on the discrepancies in Lombaard’s statements to police.

Lombaard has testified that Smith allegedly sold Joshlin for R20,000 to a sangoma and that in return for their silence, she would be paid R1,000 and Van Rhyn R1,200.

Lombaard has testified that she knew Joshlin would be sold to a sangoma, but that she had visited their house and made food for Joshlin before she was taken.

Mkabayi asked Lombaard how she could look at the young girl that morning, knowing that she was about to be sold, to which Lombaard replied that she didn’t have an answer. 

Mkabayi further put it to Lombaard that the reason she implicated Van Rhyn was that her boyfriend, Ayanda Litoni, had been implicated by Van Rhyn as being party to Joshlin’s disappearance. But Lombaard denied this and said it wasn’t true.

Van Rhyn denies involvement in the plan to sell Joshlin.

He also denies that he was in the company of Lombaard at Smith’s shack on the morning of 19 February 2024 at around 9am, but admits he was at Smith’s home later in the day.

Mkabayi also addressed affidavits filed by Joshlin’s 10-year-old sibling. The court heard that the boy signed two statements in which he claimed not to have seen Van Rhyn at their shack on the morning of Joshlin’s disappearance, as claimed by Lombaard.

While the boy’s statements have been handed in for the record, they remain sealed. They are provisionally admissible, but the judge will decide whether the 10-year-old needs to testify to interrogate his evidence.

Search for Joshlin


The court also heard that Lombaard, who did not participate in the search for Joshlin, said that she still believed the search had been important.

Judge Erasmus interjected and said: “The longer you sit here, the more you surprise me. You knew that the search was senseless, yes, so why did you think the search was so important?”

Lombaard responded: “I saw a lot of important people looking for Joshlin, but I told myself I’m not going to look for Joshlin, because Kelly hasn’t paid me.”

When asked by Erasmus if she knew where Joshlin had been taken to, she replied, “No, my lord.”

Throughout the trial, which began on Monday, 3 March 2025, the State witness has struggled to comprehend the questions posed to her, providing lengthy explanations and often incorrect answers.

Judge Eramus said: “The accused, especially Ms Smith, faces life imprisonment. If you don’t listen to the questioning, it ultimately affects your credibility and might also affect my decision at the end of the case to grant you indemnity.”

The trial continues. DM

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