ALIBI AFGEMAAI: Kelly Smith
Image: Ayanda Ndamane/ Independent Newspapers
A new witness has taken the stand, testifying that missing meisie Joshlin Smith’s mother, Kelly Smith, was not where she claimed to be on the day of her daughter’s disappearance.
On Tuesday, Kelly Zeegers recounted the night she first learned that Joshlin
Joshlin disappeared from her Middelpos home on 19 February 2024.
Her mother, Kelly, die se boyfriend, Jacquen ‘Boeta’ Appollis, and their chommie, Steveno ‘Steffie’ van Rhyn, are standing trial for kidnapping and human trafficking in the Western Cape High Court, sitting at the White City Multipurpose Centre in Saldanha Bay.
Smith had told police that she had been working at the Zeegers’ house on the day Joshlin vanished.
However, Zeegers testified that when police asked her to review her home’s CCTV footage, she found no evidence of Smith being there that day.
Kelly Zeegers testified that Racquel ‘Kelly’ Smith was supposed to clean her home on February 19 but she was not on her CCTV footage.
Zeegers told the court: “I felt something wasn’t right.
CHECKED FOOTAGE: Neighbour Kelly Zeegers
Image: Henk Kruger
“I checked the footage from 10am until after 2pm, but she was not there. I even looked at the footage from 18 February, she was not there either.”
Zeegers recalled that she first heard about Joshlin’s disappearance when Kelly called her, asking if the child was at a tuckshop near her home.
She added: “I went there, but there was no one. Kelly also asked me to check if Natasha’s vehicle was there, but it wasn’t. She then told me Joshlin was gone but didn’t know where she was. I told her the shop was locked.”
Later that evening, Zeegers called Kelly again to check for updates.
The neighbour said: “She said there was nothing, but that two kids claimed they had seen Joshlin walking into the bushes with two men. I kept calling until around 10pm.
“They told me they were on their way to speak to one of the men. They were also searching the house and asked me to come down, but I refused because I couldn’t leave the children alone, especially with load shedding.”
Zeegers added that she later heard Smith calling out for Joshlin around midnight.
In yesterday's other happenings, Joshlin's father, Josh Emke, had to leave the trial into her disappearance on Tuesday, due to an illness.
Just before 2pm, Emke, who wore a thick navy jacket, appeared to lose his balance.
He was sitting near his mother Louretta Yon.
A few minutes later, Emke fell to his side and a community member in the public gallery rushed to catch him.
Court orderlies helped him up and took him outside the court for further assistance.