Key witness accused of masterminding Joshlin Smith’s disappearance in court twist
Today, March 26, 2025, the trial of six-year-old Joshlin Smith’s disappearance took a dramatic turn in the Western Cape High Court.
After seven days of intense cross-examination, the defense team representing Joshlin’s mother, Racquel “Kelly” Smith, challenged the credibility of the state’s key witness, Lourentia Lombaard.
Lombaard, who had initially been arrested alongside Kelly Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen “Boeta” Appollis, and their friend Steveno van Rhyn in March 2024, was granted Section 204 witness status after the charges against her were dropped in October 2024. Lombaard’s testimony had previously accused the three defendants, claiming Kelly sold Joshlin to a sangoma for R20,000 on February 19, 2024.
However, on the final day of cross-examination, Kelly Smith’s attorney, Rinesh Sivnarain, turned the tables, accusing Lombaard of being the true orchestrator of Joshlin’s disappearance, along with her boyfriend, Ayanda Letoni. The defense argued that Lombaard was the last person seen with Joshlin and suggested that she and Letoni were behind the child’s vanishing.
This dramatic shift came after a week of pointed questioning, during which Lombaard’s testimony was heavily scrutinized. The defense highlighted inconsistencies in her statements, such as contradictions between her initial police confession and later versions of events, as well as her admitted confusion in earlier interviews. These discrepancies raised serious doubts about her reliability, and the defense’s counterclaim marked a critical turning point in the trial. The case, now charged with uncertainty, continues to unfold..
