Lourencia Lombaard Awaits Indemnity Ruling in Joslin Smith Trial, Judge Won’t Make Decision Yet

• Kelly Smith, Jacquin Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn were found guilty of kidnapping and human trafficking
• Lourencia Lombaard will have to wait a bit longer to find out if she earned indemnity from prosecution
• Judge Nathan Erasmus explained that he foresaw more evidence being revealed that could influence his decision

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

WESTERN CAPE – With Kelly Smith, Jacquin Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn now found guilty of kidnapping and human trafficking, the attention turns to the fate of Lourencia Lombaard.

Lombaard, who is known as Renz, was originally one of the suspects charged following the disappearance of Joslin Smith.

The little girl from Saldanha Bay went missing on 19 February 2024, with her mother, mother’s boyfriend, and their friend later charged in connection with her disappearance.

Judge to rule on Lombaard’s testimony

Before making a pronouncement of his verdict, Judge Nathan Erasmus noted that he also had to deal with the indemnity of Lombaard.

Renz turned State witness in exchange for indemnity from prosecution, but Erasmus warned at the beginning of the trial that it would only be granted if she proved to be a credible witness. The defence has often painted Renz out to be a poor witness, with even the State admitting that she was not the best.

Lombaard changed her story during testimony, and also needed medical assistance twice when she was grilled by the defence.

On the final day of the trial, on 2 May, he announced that he would not be dealing with his determination of that just yet. He explained that there would be another stage of this case, and there could be more evidence presented at that stage that could influence his decision.

“Furthermore, if I have doubt on that question after all the evidence in the case has been led, I might consider wanting to grant Miss Lombaard’s legal representative to address me on the issue before final determination is made,” he said.

What you need to know about Lombaard’s involvement during the trial

• Lombaard testified that Kelly sold Joslin to a sangoma for R20,000
• Lombaard further claimed that the sangoma wanted Joslin for her skin and eyes
• Lombaard told the court that she was tortured for three weeks with her boyfriend
• Defence advocate Fanie Harmse poked holes in Lombaard’s testimony
• Rinesh Sivnarain alleged that Lombaard and Ayanda Letoni were behind Joslin’s disappearance
• The defence challenged the credibility of Lombaard’s evidence during closing arguments

Kelly Smith and co-accused found guilty

Briefly News reported that Smith, van Rhyn and Appollis were found guilty of human trafficking and kidnapping.

Judge Nathan Erasmus found that the state did enough to prove that the trio were guilty on both counts.

The judge also noted that due to their failure to testify in their defence, the trio could not explain themselves.

Source: Briefly News