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From left: Jacquin 'Boeta Appollis; Kelly Smith and Steveno van Rhyn. INSET: Joshlin Smith Pictures: Video screengrabs SABC News and Facebook
Startling new details around the disappearance of Joshlin Smith emerged on the third day of the Saldanha girl’s kidnapping and human trafficking trial when two suspects claimed that police forced them to make confessions.
Jacquen “Boeta” Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn – the two co-accused of the missing girl’s mother, Racquel “Kelly” Smith – argued in their plea statements on Wednesday that they were tortured and assaulted by police officers over a period of several days.
On Monday, the trio pleaded not guilty on the charges of abduction and trafficking in persons for exploitation.
The trial is unfolding at the Saldanha Bay Multipurpose Centre as a circuit sitting of the Western Cape High Court to accommodate community members who tirelessly took part in the extensive search operation for Joshlin.
The green-eyed Diazville Primary learner vanished without a trace from the Middelpos Informal Settlement of Diazville just more than a year ago on 19 February 2024.
On Wednesday morning, Apollis and Van Rhyn claimed in their respective plea statements that police officers assaulted them when they were taken in for interrogation on March last year.
According to them, plastic bags were pulled over their heads and, taken to various deserted beach locations, where they were further assaulted.
Police officers reportedly threatened that they would be killed and buried in the beach sand or their bodies dumped in the sea if they did not tell them where the then-six-year-old Joshlin Smith was.
They further allege that they were taken to Vredenburg Hospital for medical examinations on 4 and 5 March 2024, but were warned beforehand to keep mum about how they sustained their injuries.
If they did, they would be killed. Appollis and Van Rhyn further allege that they were told to shake their heads if they wanted to confess.
According to them, the pain of the assault was so severe that they could no longer bear it and shook their heads.
The two were allegedly held separately from each other and assaulted by different police officers.
Van Rhyn also alleged that he was abducted by police officers in a white double-cab bakkie.
He stated that they reportedly took him to Jacobs Bay between Saldanha and Vredenburg where he was assaulted.
According to Van Rhyn’s statement, he was handcuffed and thrown into the back of the bakkie. He was further assaulted with police officers allegedly forcing the barrel of a firearm into his mouth.
They deny having anything to do with Joshlin’s disappearance or assisting to sell her.
During their first appearance at the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court in March 2024, the State alleged that Kelly instructed Appollis and Van Rhyn to sell Joslin for R20 000 for muti.
At the time, it was reported in the media that the two men made the grim confession after a 36-hour interrogation at the Saldanha Police Station.
ALSO READ: Muti murders in SA: Has Joslin Smith fallen prey to ‘occult economy’?
Smith, in turn, explained in her plea statement that she went to work shortly before 8am on the Monday morning of Joshlin’s disappearance to perform an odd domestic job.
She stated that she did not sent Joshlin and her little brother to school because their school uniforms were dirty.
She left them in the care of her boyfriend (Appollis) and dropped her youngest child off at playschool.
According to the plea statement, she borrowed R50 from her part-time employer to buy some tik (crystal meth).
She then went home around 12pm, using the R50 to buy tik which she and her boyfriend Appollis smoked. At the time, Joshlin and her little brother were still at Smith’s home.
She returned to work at 1pm. When she clocked off at 5pm, she borrowed another R200 from her employer.
Smith said that as soon as she arrived at her shack, she asked Appollis and Van Rhyn where her children were.
They answered her that the boy had gone to his godfather and Joshlin was playing outside somewhere. The group, which included a neighbour, Lourentia “Renze” Lombaard, then bought more tik and smoked it together.
Following Joshlin’s disappearance, Van Rhyn told Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader and Minister of Sport, Arts and Recreation, Gayton McKenzie, in a TikTok interview that he smoked some Mandrax with Appollis and Lombaard before Smith arrived back at her Middelpos shack.
Lombaard was also arrested last year in connection with Joshlin’s disappearance case. All charges against her have however been withdrawn. She will be testifying as a state witness in the trial.
In her plea statement, Smith said that when she realised that Joshlin was still not home after their last smoking session, she started looking for her daughter before contacting the police at around 9pm.
Smith also denies any involvement in Joshlin’s disappearance.
NOW READ: Joshlin Smith: Did ticking time bomb of tik push Mom Kelly over the edge?
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