Phumza Sigaqa, the woman arrested and then released in connection with the disappearance of six-year-old Joshlin Smith, says police tortured her to ‘tell the truth’.
Also read: Joshlin Smith case: Lombaard joins co-accused behind bars
In an interview with Newzroom Afrika, the 32-year-old mother of three stated that police coerced her into ‘confessing’ via ‘hours of torture’.
‘I was called into a boardroom, [and] asked where Joshlin was and if I knew Joshlin. I told them I knew her,’ she said, adding that police told her that she needed to tell the truth because Kelly Smith’s boyfriend, Jacquen ‘Boeta’ Appolis and Stevano van Rhyn claimed that they left Joshlin with her around 1pm on the day she disappeared.
‘I was shocked at the revelation. I was again told to tell the truth. I was beaten under my feet, [and] on my knees, poured with water and suffocated with a plastic. During this ordeal, I was repeatedly asked to tell the truth. I asked: “Which truth?” I was forced to admit that Joshlin was indeed left in my care.’
She said a female officer told her that she needed to be ‘put in a machine’. However, a male officer argued that she ‘could die’ if they did that. It is not clear which machine she spoke about.
Sigaqa appeared alongside Smith, Appolis and Van Rhyn in the Vredenburg Magistrates’ Court. She was charged with trafficking in persons for exploitation and kidnapping.
However, the State withdrew all charges against her on 13 March and she was released while the trio remained in custody. All three have abandoned their bid for bail. ‘I’d say they were forcing me to agree to something I knew nothing about.’
During the interview, she also mentioned that, during their first court appearance, Smith admitted she was pregnant. ‘At our first appearance, she (Kelly) asked Boeta how he could do something like this knowing she was pregnant. He responded to her that he had no choice, he said: “I really don’t have a choice”.’
She also believes that Boeta knows more than what he leads. ‘I say this because he didn’t know enthusiasm on the first day of searching for the child. Instead, he was tired. I found it strange for a parent not to be eager to join the search.’
Yesterday, a fourth person charged with Joshlin’s disappearance appeared in the Vredenburg Magistrates’ Court. Sigaqa said she didn’t know Lourentia ‘Renz’ Lombaard, who reportedly made a ‘full confession’ and abandoned her bid for bail.
Sigaqa adds that although her life will never be the same again after her ordeal, she has no fear of being implicated in the case again. ‘The people in the community know I’m not capable of this. If I had it my way, I would get myself and my children counselling following this ordeal.’
‘Life will never be the same again because I will always be known as the sangoma and the woman who stole a child.’
‘I pray that Joshlin be found so that I can be absolved even though I know I had no involvement in her disappearance.’
Police continue to search for Joshlin. The group will return to court on 13 May.
Also read:
Kelly, mother of missing Joshlin Smith, pregnant in Pollsmoor
Picture:@ActionSocietySA / X
