A KEY State witness in the ongoing trial of missing Joshlin Smith told the court that the child’s mother Kelly Smith had allegedly disclosed that she was being paid to keep quiet about what happened to her daughter who disappeared when she was only six years old last year.

Former accused turned state witness, Laurentia Lombaard had been on the stand since Thursday.

She provided a detailed account about the events leading to the child’s disappearance as the trial into Joshlin’s disappearance entered its third week in the Western Cape High Court sitting in Saldanha in the Western Cape.

Kelly Smith along with her boyfriend Jacquen 'Boeta' Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn, have been charged with kidnapping and human trafficking. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

On her last day on the witness stand on Monday, Lombaard told the court she did not initially tell police the truth.

Lombaard expressed remorse on the stand when asked how she felt following the incident and regarding her involvement.

“I feel very hurt. I am a mother of four and I didn’t know the plans Kelly and Boeta had. I only overheard them at a later stage about plans to sell the child. I tried to stop her [Kelly] but she wouldn’t listen,” Lombaard said, getting emotional on the stand.

“Wherever she is [Joshlin] ... I appeal to whoever may have the child. Please bring her home. I hope the child is alive. I am so sorry that I was involved,” Lombaard said.

Lombaard said she saw Smith again the Friday (February 23, 2024) following Joshlin’s disappearance.

Kelly said: "Renz (Lombaard’s nickname), I know what I did to Joshlin. There was someone that paid me to keep quiet".

Lombaard stated she asked who was paying her to keep quiet, but Smith never mentioned the name.

“She said the person who was looking for Joshlin was looking for her because they wanted her [Joshlin’s] eyes and skin,” Lombaard said.

Next on the stand was Smith’s sister, Mickeyla Daniels, a police constable attached to the Public Order Policing (POP) in Upington in the Northern Cape who told the court Smith was the eldest of five children.

Daniels said she was contacted on February 20, 2024, by her mother who explained that Joshlin had disappeared.

“I sent Kelly a message before 1pm. She did not reply. I sent another message before 7pm to ask if Joshlin had been found. She didn’t answer. I called her on Facebook messenger, but she did not answer,” Daniels said.

On February 21, 2024, Daniels received a voice note from Smith stating Joshlin had not been found yet but claimed she ‘will get her back’ that day.

Daniels testified she asked Smith where Joshlin was, and, in her own words, Kelly said: “My sister, my kind is hier in die plakkerskamp. Iemand wil my kind verkoop maar Saldanha is nou ‘n hotspot. (my child is here in the informal settlement. Someone wants to sell my child, but Saldanha is currently a hotspot).”

Cape Times