By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Lourentia Lombaard, the key state witness in the Joshlin Smith kidnapping and human trafficking trial, admitted to repeatedly lying to police and the media about her knowledge about the child’s disappearance.
Lombaard continued with her cross examination at the Western Cape High Court sitting in Saldanha Bay on the Cape West Coast.
She attributed her silence and omissions to fear, anger and drug use — as well as a promised payment of R1 000 for her silence.
Lombaard is testifying in the hopes of being granted indemnity from prosecution, a decision that will only be made by the judge when all the witnesses have been heard, which could include the accused.
Lombaard has testified that she failed to inform authorities on multiple occasions that Joslin’s mother, Kelly Smith, had sold the child to a sangoma.
The state said Smith, the third accused in the case, received R20 000 for the child on Sunday, 18 February 2024, with the child being given to the sangoma the next day. Joslin has not been seen since.
Lombaard, who again fell ill and was assisted from the courtroom on Tuesday, resumed cross-examination on Wednesday by Rinesh Sivnarain, the attorney for Smith.
Under questioning — with frequent interjections and clarifications from Judge Nathan Erasmus — Lombaard acknowledged that she had had several opportunities to disclose what she knew to police but chose not to.
She portrayed herself as a bystander in media interviews, despite knowing about the events surrounding the child’s disappearance.
According to her testimony, Smith allegedly offered her R1 000 to remain silent — a payment that was never made.
She claims that her first truthful account was in her section 204 statement, made in October 2024, when she formally became a state witness.
Prompted by Erasmus during testimony, Lombaard confirmed that the R1 000 she had been promised played a role in her decision not to come forward. “That’s correct,” she said, when asked if the money had influenced her silence.
All four adults involved in the case were under the influence of either tik or mandrax during the days surrounding the child’s disappearance. They have admitted to regular drug use. All the accused have pleaded not guilty.