Uproar at court: Woman freed in Joshlin Smith case flees the community
|Published
Cape Town - The woman accused of kidnapping missing Joshlin Smith has fled the community while her family has said her life was turned upside down.
This came after Phumza Sigaqa was arrested alongside the 6-year-old girl’s mother, Kelly Smith, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn.
Sigaqa was arrested last week and made her first appearance on Thursday.
Her husband, Silindokuhle Bekameva, said he was surprised by the arrest and the rumour that his wife was a sangoma.
Yesterday morning, chaos erupted outside the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court as the police refused to let politician Ashley Sauls, also known as Oom Biza, inside the courtroom.
Hundreds of Saldanha Bay residents outside the court were pushed to the other side of the road and a barbed wire barrier was placed in front of them.
Many tried to remove it and the police were forced to use stun grenades and tear gas to disperse a crowd of more than 1 000 people, who retaliated by throwing rocks and injuring a 29-year-old police officer.
There were three groups carrying placards.
The one group chanted: “Biza in!”, the other shouted: “Where is Joshlin?” and the third sang “Free Pumza”.
During court proceedings yesterday, the State said it was withdrawing charges against Sigaqa due to a lack of evidence.
Sigaqa’s aunt, Monica Bontswayo, said that the mother of three had to uproot her life, along with those of her children.
“After she was released, she had to move from the area because it was no longer safe for her and the children. We fear that something will happen if she stays.
“We were very shocked when we heard that she was arrested because she had never been in jail, and also that she was accused of such charges.
“Her mother was devastated upon hearing this. We don’t know why she was arrested but we knew all along that she had nothing to do with this case. She is innocent.”
Kelly, Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn yesterday abandoned their bail applications.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said that if they changed their minds, the State would oppose bail.
“The State requested for the case to be postponed for further investigation as there is more information that has come up about the whereabouts of Joshlin Smith.
“Investigators still need to take down some witness statements and conduct data analysis of the cellphones of the accused.
“The accused are charged with trafficking in persons for the purpose of exploitation and kidnapping.
“The investigation continues and more charges and more accused may be added to the docket.
“The case will return to court on May 13.”
Three weeks after the disappearance of Joshlin, the police have not yet found the 6-year-old.
She was in the care of her mother’s boyfriend, Appollis, when she went missing from her Diazville, Middelpos home on February 19.
Two weeks after interrogation the police charged all four accused with human trafficking and kidnapping.
Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen condemned the violence outside court.
“A 29-year-old female constable had to be taken to hospital due to the violence outside the court.
“I can already see a conversation with the police that we will be analysing the video footage and the people throwing stones will be held accountable. That officer could have lost her eye.”
Provincial police commissioner Thembisile Patekile said they had opened a case of public violence.
“The people were unprovoked by the police and they started attacking the officers.
“Whoever was responsible will pay for it. We understand the anger of the people, we will speak to the court and the NPA.”
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za