Cape Town – April 16, 2025 — State Prosecutor Zelda Swanepoel has rejected allegations made by two of the accused in the Joshlin Smith disappearance case, asserting that their claims of police assault and torture are unfounded.
On Wednesday, Swanepoel said that the injuries sustained by Steveno “Steffie” Van Rhyn and Jacquen “Boeta” Appollis could not have been inflicted by police, disputing their claims that law enforcement officers coerced them into self-incrimination during the investigation.
Van Rhyn and Appollis testified earlier that they were physically assaulted and tortured in custody, alleging that the abuse was aimed at forcing them to implicate themselves and others in the disappearance of six-year-old Joshlin Smith, who was last seen at her Middelpos home in Saldanha Bay on February 19, 2024.
Both men, along with Joshlin’s mother, Racquel “Kelly” Smith, were arrested on March 5, 2024, and have pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping and human trafficking.