SALDANHA BAY - The defence in the Joshlin Smith kidnapping trial, has painted the state's star witness as an unreliable drug addict.
Lourentia Lombaard testified that Kelly Smith sold her daughter Joshlin to a sangoma, for her eyes and light skin.
So far the prosecution has called 18 witnesses and Lombaard's testimony is crucial to the state's case. She was initially arrested as one of the suspects, but has since become a section 204 witness.
One of the witnesses is a school volunteer who told the court how she witnessed and overheard a heated argument, between Kelly Smith and boyfriend Jacquen Appollis on the 18th of February 2024.
Pualina Tshosa’s face may not be shown by order of the court. She has testified about seeing Smith pulling Joshlin by the arm so hard, the little girl lost one of her flip flops. Only when she saw a picture in the newspaper of the missing girl, did she realise it was Joshlin, she saw with the woman that Sunday.
Defence lawyers accused her of lying to the court about what she saw and heard. But Tshosa stuck to her story.
READ: Joshlin was sold for her eyes and skin, says key witness
Next up in the stand was Lourencia Lombaard. She turned state witness last year, after making a confession and faced cross examination from the defence. And during questioning, by Jacquen Appollis's lawyers, Lombaard again admitted to taking drugs regularly.
By: Ayesha Ismail