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As the defence poked holes in Lombaard's statements, she stumbled, admitting fear and confusion. 'I wasn’t fully conscious,' she confessed.
Kelly Smith during the Joshlin Smith trial in Saldanha. Picture: Gallo Images/Jaco Marais)
After a key witness in the high-profile case of the missing Joshlin Smith fell ill on Wednesday, the defence resumed their cross-examination on Thursday.
The then-six-year-old Joshlin disappeared from her family’s home in Middelpos on 19 February 2024.
Lourentia (Rens) Lombaard, a friend of Joshlin’s mother, Kelly Smith, finished her evidence-in-chief for the state on Monday morning. She alleged that Smith told her whoever took Joshlin was looking for her eyes and skin.
Her sixth day of testimony continued at the Western Cape Circuit High Court in Saldanha.
Lombaard handed a document from a general practitioner to Judge Nathan Erasmus. He stated that he would not read it into the record at this stage, as Lombaard needed to be advised by her legal counsel, who was absent from court on Thursday.
Erasmus encouraged Lombaard to stay calm, listen carefully, and ensure she fully understood each question.
Jacquen “Boeta” Appollis’ lawyer, Fanie Harmse, had barely begun his questioning when he was reprimanded by Erasmus for asking complicated questions to the witness. Erasmus said he previously told counsel that Lombaards is not a sophisticated witness. Therefore, questioning should be kept as simple as possible.
As on Wednesday, Harmse continued to try to poke holes in Lombaard’s testimony. He referred to discrepancies between her original statement in March 2024 and her confession in October 2024. She was incarcerated for the period between.
When asked why she added details to her confession, which were omitted from her statement, she was clearly confused and started stammering.
Erasmus said that the issues about the statement have been dealt with previously. Lombaard stated that when making the statement, she was scared, nervous, and stressed. “I didn’t tell them everything, and wasn’t fully conscious.”
Erasmus then said that he was going to divert slightly. He said he watched the video footage of her statement on Wednesday night and could not help but notice that she looked very different. “Except for your hairstyle and the weight you picked up, your facial expressions and total complexion is different.”
He said she sat on the right-hand side of the officer taking the statement. “At a stage, I saw you tried to see what she was writing. When the camera angle was different, I realised that it always looks like you’re gazing downward. You told us that prior to your arrest on 13 March 2024, you used a lot of drugs. So when you made the statement, it was two days after her arrest.”
Erasmus asked how long before she was arrested had she used drugs. She replied that she used the entire previous week and the Monday evening. She was arrested on the Wednesday.
He explained that the reason he was asking the questions at this stage, that he noticed the changes in the witness and now know the timeline of drug use. “Ultimately, I would have to evaluate the quality of the evidence.”
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Harmse resumed his questioning and pointed out that Lombaard originally said Appollis went with Smith and Joshlin to meet the woman she described as a sangoma. However, in her confession, she only spoke about Smith and Joshlin.
Lombaard repeated that she was confused and nervous, and that she had never spoken in front of a camera.
She told the court that she didn’t trust the woman who took her statement because it was my first time speaking about Joshlin’s case.
Harmse pointed out that she now gave a second reason for adding details to her confession and referred to her previous statement that she was nervous, scared and not fully conscious.
Erasmus asked why Lombaard spoke to the officer if she didn’t trust her. She replied that she did not know she was coming to her, so she spoke. “I felt I couldn’t tell people what happened, and I was scared of speaking with her.”
He also asked if she was expecting any benefit for speaking to the officer, to which she replied that she did not. “In the statement, you told the officer: ‘My wish is that they would grant me free bail so I can go home and go to court on the next occasion from home,’” Erasmus said.
Harmse then pointed to Lombaard’s recollection of overhearing Smith telling Appollis about the money she was paid for Joshlin. He asked what time it was. She said she didn’t remember.
However, he said that in her confession she said the conversation happened on the afternoon of Sunday 18 February.
Erasmus again intervened and asked about the discussion on how the money would be divided and said that her statement read it happened on the Sunday. Lombaard confirmed.
“So why did you tell the officer that the discussion took place on Monday?” he asked. “Did you then lie to her?”
“That’s correct,” Lombaard replied.
The trial will resume on Monday.
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