Carlo Petersen 17 March 2025 | 11:45

Emotional Lombaard breaks down at end of testimony in Joshlin Smith trial

Lourencia Lombaard testified that Kelly Smith told her that the woman who allegedly took Joshlin wanted the child for her eyes and skin.

Emotional Lombaard breaks down at end of testimony in Joshlin Smith trial

Former accused in the Joshlin Smith trial, Lourentia Lombaard, testified at the Western Cape High Court sitting in the Saldanha Bay Multi-Purpose Centre on 17 March 2025. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/EWN

SALDANHA BAY - Former-accused-turned-State witness, Lourencia Lombaard, broke down in tears on Monday when she ended her testimony in the Joshlin Smith trial.

Lombaard testified that Kelly Smith told her that the woman who allegedly took Joshlin wanted the child for her eyes and skin.

Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and his friend, Stevano van Rhyn, are charged with kidnapping and human trafficking for the little girl's disappearance.

Lombaard previously testified that she witnessed Smith sell her daughter to a sangoma for R20,000.

She said that on 23 February, four days after Joshlin went missing, she met with Smith at her shack in Middelpos.

Lombaard said that when she asked Smith for her share of the money, Smith told her she was also being paid to keep quiet and the woman who took Joshlin wanted the child for her eyes and skin.

Lombaard became emotional towards the end of her testimony after State prosecutor, Zelda Swanepoel, asked her to confirm if she was telling the truth.