As Laurentia Lombaard testified in the trial of missing Joshlin Smith, the judge adjourned proceedings to allow defence lawyers to consult with their clients. The long-awaited testimony was halted just minutes after it began.
On Thursday afternoon, Lombaard, widely known as “Renz,” took the stand at the Western Cape High Court, which sits at the White City Multipurpose Centre in Diazville. The former accused, who turned state witness, was arrested alongside Joshlin’s mother, Racquel ‘Kelly’ Smith, her boyfriend, Jacquen ‘Boeta’ Appollis and their friend, Steveno ‘Steffie’ van Rhyn.
Joshlin, six, went missing from her Middelpos home on 19 February 2024. Her mother claimed she had stayed home because she was unwell and her school uniform was dirty. Kelly also said she had left her daughter in Boeta’s care.
Originally from Wolseley, Lombaard is a mother of four children—two live in Worcester and two, aged two and three, reside with their father, Ayanda Litoli, in the Eastern Cape. She admitted that after moving to Saldanha Bay, she became involved in drugs.
Detailing how she met the three accused, Lombaard stated:
“I have known Boeta for a year, I have known Kelly for more than a year, and I don’t really know Steveno, I have known him for about seven or eight months. I got to know him when he was assisting Ayanda at the carwash when he would ask for money.
“I also know Boeta because Ayanda was a drug dealer, and he would buy or help sell the drugs. We would go buy and smoke drugs together.”
She explained that she met Kelly in a similar manner, saying:
“I became friends with Boeta and Kelly. I didn’t really hang out with Steveno. If I didn’t have lollie (money) for tik, I would go and borrow a lollie and she would give me.
“I would smoke with her and sometimes with Boeta, that’s how I became friends with them. This happened regularly.”
She also confirmed that she was aware of Boeta and Kelly’s romantic relationship.
State prosecutor Advocate Zelda Swanepoel asked Lombaard what had happened the day before Joshlin went missing.
Lombaard said on the morning of Sunday 18 February she went to Kelly’s house after she had made food for her children and Ayanda.
“I walked around the rocks near Kelly’s place and on the other side of the canal I saw a detective bakkie parked.”
Before she could continue her testimony, Judge Nathan Erasmus adjourned proceedings.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila stated on Thursday that five witnesses had testified. Two of them were continuing from Wednesday. One of them, Steven Coetzee, testified that he had met Kelly months before Joshlin’s disappearance.
He said Kelly had told him her that something drastic was going to happen in the area, that there would be lots of cars and it would look like a movie scene.
“Some later I found that that child who disappeared was the daughter of Kelly.”
He also shared what Kelly had told him with his employer and the prosecutor, who then relayed the information to the investigating officer.
The second witness, TikToker Shakeerah Ganief, also known as “Shakes Warrior” on social media, continued her testimony. She explained that when she started investigating the case, Kelly did not behave like someone who had lost a child.
“In two instances, Kelly told her, in the company of other people, that she never thought that she would be famous. She had always wanted to be famous, but she never thought her daughter, Joshlin, would make her famous.”
Both witnesses were cross-examined but stood their ground before being excused.
Ntabazalila confirmed that the third witness was Thersia Kruger, Coetzee’s employer, who testified about Coetzee sharing Kelly’s alleged statements. The fourth witness was Jacques van Zyl, the control prosecutor at Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court.
The final and most significant witness of the day was Laurentia Lombaard, who is a Section 204 witness. She was warned by Judge Erasmus about the implications of being a 204 witness.
“The last witness, the most important witness, was Ms Laurentia Lombaard, our 204 witness, who was warned by Judge Nathan Erasmus on what it means to be a 204 witness, and that depending on her testimony and whether she has testified in truth, then it will be the court that decides whether to grant her immunity from prosecution,” Ntabazalila said.
“We just started with a testimony, and she will continue on Friday morning.
“The matter was postponed for both teams to be able to consult, because when we started with this witness, the defence protested. They didn’t want the witness to be called in on Thursday because they were protesting that they were not told in time whether she is going to be called on the day.”
