The handling of the Joshlin Smith trial came under a fierce attack from the defence

The appeal of the convicted kidnappers in the Joshlin Smith case exploded into a fierce attack on the Western Cape High Court’s handling of the trial, with defence lawyers accusing the State of trampling constitutional rights, hiding crucial evidence, and relying on coerced confessions.

Advocate Nobahle Mkabayi, who represents Steveno “Steffie” van Rhyn, came out swinging, telling the bench her client was unlawfully detained for more than 48 hours before his first court appearance on March 7, 2024, a direct breach of his rights.

“This case was compromised from the start,” she said.

“We appeared in court on 31 January 2021 bare-handed and clueless, without the contents of the docket. The State knew the attorneys, but details were never furnished before the pre-trial.”

the defence received the docket only two weeks before the trial, and even then, it was incomplete. “We had to climb the mountain of fetching the contents ourselves. It is unconstitutional to shift that duty to the defence,” she said, adding that the limited preparation time made it impossible to consult witnesses, strategise, or fully assess video evidence.

Mkabayi accused the police of arresting her client without a warrant and subjecting him to torture. the first doctor to examine him did not rule out that his injuries were consistent with abuse, she said.

“Yet Captain Philip Seekoei still took a confession from him. Any statement from a tortured person is inadmissible, a bleeding man has no will,” she told the court.

She said officers failed to inform her client of his rights to remain silent, to legal representation, and not to incriminate himself.

She also blasted the trial court for failing to make a clear ruling on the admissibility of the confession after a trial-within-a-trial.

“This confession was not made freely or voluntarily. Suffocation was used,” she said.

Moments later, Mkabayi told the court she was unwell, and proceedings paused.

Advocate Fanie Harmse, representing Jacquen “Boeta” Appollis, then aimed at the credibility of the State’s star witness, Section 204 accomplice Lourentia “Renz” Lombaard.

He said even she testified that Appollis wanted nothing to do with the alleged plot to sell Joshlin.

Harmse questioned why another alleged suspect, Phumza “Maka Lima” Sigaqa, was never charged despite evidence suggesting Joshlin may have been taken to her house.

He argued Appollis’s statement to police was coerced, citing a video showing him limping and medical notes from Sergeant Fortuin recording fresh injuries on March 6, 2024. “Those injuries cannot be wished away,” he said.

In the same proceedings, Advocate Eben van Tonder, representing Lombaard, defended her credibility and argued that she had testified truthfully throughout the trial.

Van Tonder noted that the Western Cape High Court had found “sufficient corroboration for the reliability” of Lombaard’s testimony, supported by both direct and circumstantial evidence. He stressed that, despite defence claims that she was unreliable, the court appeared to have relied on her account when reaching its judgment.

Taking the “totality of the evidence and surrounding circumstances” into account, Van Tonder said the witness had been honest.

He added that she had made “huge personal sacrifices” in her life, uprooting herself and her children to enter witness protection.

“She has much to lose,” Van Tonder argued. “She knows her possible immunity from prosecution will be jeopardised if she is dishonest to the court. This in itself incentivised her to be truthful.”

He submitted that she qualified for full immunity under Section 204 of the Criminal Procedure Act on all counts in the indictment and any competent verdicts arising from it.

Joshlin vanished from her Middelpos home in Saldanha Bay on February 19, 2024. Her mother, Racquel “Kelly” Smith, Appollis, and Van Rhyn were later convicted of kidnapping and human trafficking, each receiving life sentences.

The appeal continues on Wednesday morning.

mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za