Joshlin Smith, of, Saldanha Bay, has been missing since 19 February.
(Executive mayor Andrè Truter/Facebook)
The case against the four accused in the disappearance of Joshlin Smith has again been postponed after the state said new evidence had come to light.
“Some new evidence has emerged and we are duty-bound to investigate that evidence and in terms of the policy directives the matter will only be enrolled in the high court when it is certified that all investigations have been complete,” state prosecutor Aradhana Heeramun said during Monday’s court sitting.
Joshlin’s mother Kelly Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen “Boeta” Appolis, Stevano van Rhyn, and Lourentia Lombaard appeared in the Vredenburg magistrate’s court on charges of trafficking for the purpose of exploitation and kidnapping.
Joshlin vanished from her home in the Middelpos informal settlement in Saldanha Bay on 19 February. At the time of her daughter’s disappearance, Smith told the police that she could not find the child when she had returned home after being out for the day.
The matter was supposed to be transferred to the Western Cape high court but has been halted.
Outside the courthouse on Monday, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila refused to share details of the new evidence.
“We can’t speak about it. We’ve asked the court for a remand so we can continue the investigations,” he said.
The case was postponed to 21 October and the accused were remanded in custody until then. The magistrate has marked the postponement as the final round of investigations.
The attorney representing the accused told the court on Monday that the defence would object to any further postponements made by the state.
This is the third time the state has requested a postponement to give it time to conclude its investigation into the girl’s disappearance.
In March, state prosecutor Jacques van Wyk said the fourth suspect in the case, Lombaard, had confessed, without saying what she had confessed to. Van Wyk said he could give no further details. Lombaard was allegedly the last person to see Joshlin before she disappeared.
Since the girl’s disappearance, residents of Saldanha Bay have been following leads that they believe could help locate her.
In April, then police minister Bheki Cele said that according to a tip-off Joshlin had been spotted on a ship headed for international waters. Cele said officials had connected with the International Human Trafficking Hotline Web Chat, which led to the search of the Panamanian ship, Frontier Asuka.
A two-day search of the ship docked at Port Talbot in Wales however yielded no sign of the child.
In another moment suggesting a breakthrough, residents of Saldanha Bay reported a blocked drain at the back of Diazville High School where police found blood-stained clothing items.
But police said the DNA found at the scene did not match that of Joshlin.
The Mail & Guardian
mg.co.za
