A community forum based in Cape Town has condemned the actions of members of the public outside the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court during the Joshlin Smith court proceedings.
On Wednesday, Joshlin’s mother, Kelly Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis, Stevano van Rhyn, and alleged sangoma Phumza Sigaqa made their second court appearance.
The State withdrew its charges against Sigaqa, while Smith, Appollis and Van Rhyn all abandoned bail. The trio face charges of trafficking in persons and kidnapping.
Outside court, police barricaded the roads with barbed wire to avoid political spats.
Police also used stun grenades and tear gas to control the crowd.
Angry residents expressed their displeasure that some people are not being given access to enter the court premises.
“Riots by members of the public at the time of the appearance of the accused were caused after it was insisted that a politician should be allowed inside the court building.
“Cape Forum attended the proceedings because this civil rights organisation, together with the community, opposed bail for the accused. Within a few days, more than 1,500 people signed the organisation’s online petition, in which the public can voice their opposition to the granting of bail to the accused,” Cape Forum’s executive chairperson, Heindrich Wyngaard said.
Deputy chairperson for the Patriotic Alliance (PA) in the Western Cape, Ashley Sauls, told the angry crowd he had applied for permission to attend the court case and stated while he may be denied entry they will continue to fight for Joshlin.
Sauls, also known as Oom Biza on social media platforms, has been one of the persons who has been live on social media throughout searches for Joshlin across Saldanha Bay.
According to the organisation, Wyngaard was also affected by the tear gas outside court.
“The protesters' actions and the reason they rioted take attention away from the fact that the six-year-old victim is still missing.
“With our petition, we want to ensure that the focus remains on a child from our community who has disappeared and that we have not yet found answers to that,” Wyngaard said.
Joshlin has been missing since February 19.
The court case has been postponed until May 13.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
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