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Defence lawyer questioned the validity of the witness statement, stating that Johnson was among those who assaulted the accused.
The three accused. Picture: Gallo Images
State witness Sergeant Felicia Johnson has been challenged on her apparent interactions with those allegedly behind the disappearance of Joshlin Smith.
Six-year-old Joshlin disappeared from the family’s home in Saldanha Bay on 19 February 2024.
Joshlin’s mother Racquel “Kelly” Smith, her boyfriend, Jacquen “Boeta” Appollis, and his friend, Steven van Rhyn, have been arrested and charged with kidnapping and human trafficking.
They have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
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The trial of her alleged abduction continued at the Western Cape High Court in Saldanha Bay on Wednesday.
The court heard Johnson was responsible for booking the three accused at the Saldanha police station and submitting their arrest statements.
“I informed them of the charges and explained their rights to them, and I also informed them they would be taken into custody,” she said.
However, Judge Nathan Erasmus questioned why two pages from the booking register were missing and why some information was incomplete or incorrect.
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On Tuesday, Brigadier Leon Hanana, the head of the Western Cape Serious and Violent Crimes Unit, told the court that he had requested the three be re-interviewed after he joined the investigations.
Johnson said she was told to take the accused to the offices to be questioned on 4 March 2024.
Appollis’s lawyer, Fanie Harmse, asked Johnson if she had noticed Appollis had a blue eye prior.
This was asked as the court is currently hearing claims by van Rhyn and Appollis of police brutality and assault.
They claim that they were forced into confessions that were not correct at the Sea Border offices.
Johnson said she noticed the injury but did not question it.
ALSO READ: Did Kelly ask Joshlin where Joshlin was the day she disappeared?
She further claimed that she did not interact with the men accused, other than when she gave them the Notice of Rights form to sign.
But, van Rhyn’s lawyer Nobahle Mkabayi questioned her statement’s validity, stating that her client said Johnson was among those who tortured him.
“When his head was covered, he could bite the plastic and another plastic would be added over his head. While the other plastics were added on his head, you fully participated in the action,” Mkabayi added.
Johnson dismissed these allegations, saying she was not up there at the Sea Border offices.
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The defence further questioned whether van Rhyn and Appollis were handcuffed at the offices, which Johnson claimed she could not recall.
“How come don’t you remember this? Do you suffer from poor eyesight? How come you can’t see that someone is handcuffed,” asked Mkabayi.
Johnson said: “As I testified, I cannot remember whether or not they were handcuffed, I would have seen [the handcuffs].”
She then said the three accused were transported to the station after the interviews.
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Sergeant Emilio Benjamin, the investigating officer at Laaiplek Saps, told the court that he was called to the Sea Border offices to assist.
There, he met Johnson. He and two other officers transported van Rhyn to the hospital for medical attention. No mention was made of Appollis being part of the trip or receiving treatment.
“Sergeant Mbovhane was the driver of the white Polo (VW); on the left side in front was Sergeant Engelbrecht, on the back side was myself and Stevano van Rhyn,” Benjamin explained.
After the doctor examined them, they returned to the Sea Border offices and handed the accused over to their colleagues.
He said he and other officers were outside when an alleged confession was recorded, and they were only told that van Rhyn had fallen asleep during the process and was now hungry.
Benjamin is set to be cross-examined on his testimony later on Wednesday.
The trial continues.
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