The Joshlin Smith trial took a dramatic turn yesterday when key accused Jacquen "Boeta" Appollis admitted in court that parts of his confession were liegstories.
During the cross-examination at the Western Cape High Court, sitting at the White City Multipurpose Centre in Diazville, Saldanha Bay, Boeta told the court an unknown police officer coached him to implicate his co-accused, Joshlin’s mom Racquel "Kelly" Smith and their friend Steveno "Steffie" van Rhyn.
Joshlin disappeared from her home in Middelpos, Saldanha Bay, on 19 February 2024 after Kelly Smith had reportedly left her three children in the care of Boeta while she went to work.
The court is currently engaged in a trial-within-a-trial to determine whether the confessions made by the accused were given voluntarily.
Appollis told the court that he had been approached by a coloured male officer who instructed him to say that he, Kelly, and Van Rhyn had taken Joshlin to a local sangoma named Maka Lima and sold her for R20 000.
He claimed the officer told him someone would later arrive to take his statement and that he must repeat the same version.
He testified that while being recorded by Lieutenant-Colonel Adrian Pretorius, he began to fabricate elements of the story to make it more believable, including a supposed conversation with Kelly on the Sunday before Joshlin disappeared, because he was afraid.
When asked by State prosecutor Aradhana Heeramun whether he had lied to the court, Appollis admitted, “That is correct, that part.”
He denied deliberately misleading the court and when pressed on why he would invent an entire storyline, he responded: “I thought of the story, I was scared. I wanted to make it sound real.”
Judge Erasmus and the prosecutor both questioned him on the details, with Judge Erasmus at one point asking: “Were you very good at composition at school? Where does this sudden talent come from?”
The prosecutor highlighted the calm and consistent manner in which Appollis had relayed the story to Colonel Pretorius, arguing it was inconsistent with someone who was allegedly terrified.
She pointed out that the entire confession was recorded in Afrikaans to ensure accuracy and that Appollis had not appeared distressed at the time.
Appollis admitted: “I made it up while Pretorius was taking down the notes,” but he insisted that the instruction to lie came from someone else.
