Jacquin Appollis Testifies in Joslin Smith Kidnapping Trial, Details How Police Assaulted Him
- Jacquin “Boeta” Appollis took to the stand in the ongoing Joslin Smith trial on 11 April 2025
- Appollis detailed how police tortured him while at the Sea Border office on 4 March 2024
- Appollis is testifying in the trial-within-a-trial portion of the ongoing case into Joslin's disappearance
Source: Getty Images
Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent ten years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism
WESTERN CAPE - Jacquin “Boeta” Appollis, one of the accused in the Joslin Smith trial, has taken to the stand.
Appollis, the boyfriend of Racquel “Kelly” Smith, has been charged with kidnapping and human trafficking alongside Kelly and Steveno van Rhyn.
Appollis took to the stand on 11 April 2025 as part of the trial-within-a-trial phase of the main court case, where the admissibility of the confessions made by van Rhyn and Appollis will be decided. His lawyer, Fani Harmse, questioned him about what happened when police obtained the confession from him.
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Appollis details abuse by police officers
The accused explained that on Sunday, 3 March 2024, he was at Hoedjiesbaai Hotel with Kelly. The pair were taken there by Gayton McKenzie’s people. The following day, they were taken to the Sea Border office where the alleged assault happened.
Appollis claimed that he was taken to a room by four or five men who then asked him what happened on 19 February 2024, the day Joslin went missing from her Middlepos home.
After he finished explaining, they told him that he was talking nonsense and that he would die on that day.
He added that they pushed him to the ground and handcuffed him. He was then told to raise his legs, and an aluminium pipe was put behind his legs. Appollis stated that he was then hanged like this. He also claimed that a plastic bag was put over his head after officers asked if he knew Jesus.
He was told that he needed to nod or shake his head when he couldn’t breathe. When he did and they took the bag off, they would ask him where Joslin was and when he replied that he didn’t know, they would beat him with batons.
He added that he could not say how long the torture lasted, but knew that it was dark when it finally did. Appollis continued that police then took the handcuffs off but used cable ties to restrain his hands while they wrapped him in a giant police flag. They then assaulted him with batons again.
He was eventually asked if he knew who Makalima was and if he could take the police to her. Appollis said he was relieved at this stage because it meant the beatings would stop.
Source: Getty Images
Appollis claims he was forced to lie to Makalima and Kelly
The accused added that when they got to Makalima's home, he had to wait in the car while the police went in. She was brought out with her husband and children, and they were all transported to Sea Border.
It was here that he claimed police forced him to go to where Makalima was being kept and say that he and Steveno took Joslin to her on 19 February and that she told them that she would pay Kelly R20,000.
Appollis also claimed that while he was in that office, he saw that Makalima was also being assaulted by officers. According to his testimony, police then forced him to go to Kelly and say that she gave him the orders to take Joslin to Makalima.
Appollis was then led through his initial confession and asked to pinpoint what part of it were not true.
What you need to know about the Joslin Smith trial
- Lourencia Lombaard claimed that a sangoma wanted Joslin for her eyes and skin
- Defence lawyer Fanie Erasmus picked holes in Lombaard’s testimony during cross-examination
- Advocate Rinesh Sivnarain accused Lombaard of being the mastermind behind Joslin’s disappearance
- Gayton McKenzie accuses the Saldanha Bay Mayor of being involved in Joslin Smith’s disappearance
- A State witness denied that Appollis and van Rhyn were assaulted by police officers
Defence lawyer claims van Rhyn was sleeping during confession
Briefly News reported on 10 April that Advocate Nobahle Mkabayi claimed her client was sleeping when police took his confession.
Mkabayi, the defence lawyer for van Rhyn, tried to claim that her client was not in his right senses when he gave his statement.
Judge Nathan Erasmus warned Mkabayi that her statements were misleading and not in line with the footage.
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Source: Briefly News
