In a gripping continuation of the trial-within-a-trial in the Joshlin Smith case, which is at the Western Cape High Court, Jacquen “Boeta” Appollis gave emotional testimony alleging that he was beaten, tortured, and coerced by police into giving a false statement.

Appollis, boyfriend of Joshlin’s mother, Racquel ‘Kelly’ Smith, and the last known person to have seen the six-year-old before her disappearance on 19 February 2024, described chilling details of what happened to him after police picked him up on 4 March 2024.

Appollis recalled being taken to the Sea Border offices in Saldanha, where he claims officers wrapped a black bag over his head and beat him with batons.

“A Xhosa man stood in front of me and asked if I knew Jesus. When I said yes, he put the bag over my head. I told them I didn’t know where Joshlin was. That’s when they hit me, on my legs, feet, and knees,” he testified.

He said his hands were cable-tied and his body wrapped in a flag as multiple officers hit him repeatedly. “They asked me if I knew Maka Lima. I said yes. I felt relief when they asked about her, as it meant they would stop hitting me. I told them where she stays.”

Appollis testified that he was later placed in a vehicle, handcuffed, and transported, allegedly with Sergeant Dawid Johannes Fortuin, to identify Maka Lima.

After her arrest, he witnessed female officers beating her under her feet with batons. “She asked me, ‘How can you do that?’

"They took me out and said I must go to Kelly and say she told me to take Joshlin to Maka Lima for R20,000,” he added.

He told the court he spent the night in a vehicle outside the Sea Border offices and said Sergeant Felicia Johnson later read him his rights, still inside the car.

The following morning, three detectives drove him to the hospital.

“They told me not to say how I got the injuries, or else I would be assaulted again and it would be worse. I told the doctor I fell from a bakkie. That wasn’t the truth; I was scared. They had told me if I spoke out, it would be worse next time.”

He testified that the doctor noticed his limp and visible facial injuries.

Appollis said he pointed to his injured foot and knee and was given pain tablets before being returned to the Sea Border office.

There, he was allegedly told to repeat his story exactly how it was prescribed to him by the police.

The testimony forms part of the trial-within-a-trial to determine whether confessions by Appollis and co-accused Steveno van Rhyn were obtained voluntarily.

Judge Nathan Erasmus is overseeing proceedings.

The state has yet to respond to these new claims, while defense attorney Fanie Harmse continues to argue that any confession made under such conditions cannot be deemed lawful or admissible.

mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za