Joshlin Smith vanished from her home in South Africa in 2024. Credit: Executive Mayor Andrè Truter
A South African mother received a life sentence for kidnapping and trafficking her six-year-old daughter, Joshlin Smith.
Kelly Smith, also known as Racquel Smith, was convicted earlier this month.
Her boyfriend, Jacquen Appollis, and their friend, Steveno Van Rhyn, were convicted too.
The case shocked the nation.
The Western Cape High Court convicted all three.
The court held proceedings at a community center in Saldanha Bay for public access, BBC News reports.
A Community in Mourning: Courtroom Overcome with Emotion
A video showed Joshlin laughing on a family holiday.
It brought tears to the courtroom, including the interpreter.
Victim impact statements in Afrikaans painted a tragic picture of betrayal.
Joshlin’s grandmother, Amanda Smith-Daniels, asked her daughter:
“How do you sleep and live with yourself?”
Joshlin’s mom and co-accused refused to testify during the six-week trial.
Her teacher, Edna Maart, called Joshlin a quiet, tidy student.
Classmates still ask daily where she is.
To remember her, the class begins with Joshlin’s favorite gospel song, “God Will Work It Out.”
Who Is Joshlin Smith?
Joshlin was born in October 2017 to Smith and Jose Emke.
A social worker described her childhood as unstable and marked by drug abuse.
Smith struggled with substance abuse since age 15.
She was abusive to her children while high.
She once threatened to stab her son, reports say.
Smith failed to register Joshlin’s birth until five months past the legal deadline.
She spent time living in shelters for abused women.
During rehab, family friend Natasha Andrews cared for Joshlin and hoped to adopt her.
“We could have provided for her better than her mother,” Andrews told the court.
Joshlin grew up in a cramped corrugated iron shack in Middelpos informal settlement.
She lived with her mother, siblings, and Appollis.
The home offered “little privacy,” the social worker said.
Joshlin vanished at age six from Saldanha Bay, a coastal town 75 miles north of Cape Town.
She had fair skin and striking turquoise eyes.
Her photo, with hair in pigtails, spread widely in the media as the search grew.
On the day she vanished, Joshlin and her brother stayed home.
They had no clean school uniforms.
Appollis mainly cared for them while Smith smoked drugs.
State witness Laurentia Lombaard said Joshlin went missing that afternoon.
Her disappearance wasn’t reported until 9:00 PM.
The social worker called Smith “manipulative” and “the mastermind” behind trafficking her daughter.
Police, firefighters, and canine units searched dunes and coastal terrain near her home.
Community members rallied, believing the family were victims of a horrific crime.
At first, Smith drew public sympathy.
Locals helped and authorities pursued every lead.
But after her arrest, that image shattered.
Accusations of Dark Intentions and Chilling Testimony
One witness claimed Smith sold Joshlin to a traditional healer, or “sangoma,” for her eyes and skin.
A local pastor testified Smith talked about selling her children for 20,000 rand each but would accept $275.
The prosecution relied heavily on testimony from neighbors Lourentia Lombaard and Paulina Tshosa, and Joshlin’s teacher.
Their accounts painted a chilling picture of events before Joshlin’s disappearance.
BBC News reports that Lourentia Lombaard, Smith’s friend and neighbor, became a key state witness.
She testified Smith confided just before Joshlin vanished:
“I did something silly. I sold my child to a sangoma.”
Lombaard said Smith packed Joshlin’s belongings into a black bag before meeting the healer.
She also claimed Smith tried to buy silence:
“She offered money to me and others for our silence.”
The defense tried to discredit Lombaard, citing her drug use and calling her an “opportunist.”
Lombaard admitted drug use but stood firm on her testimony.
The State, led by Advocate Zelda Swanepoel, argued for life sentences:
“We don’t have her, we don’t know where she is… All of that is aggravating.”
Despite the convictions, Joshlin remains missing since February 19, 2024.
Her case has become a national tragedy, capturing South Africa’s attention.
National Outcry and Continuing Hope
Criminologist Bianca van Aswegen compared the case to Madeleine McCann’s.
She highlighted South Africa’s alarming child trafficking problem.
“It’s a bigger crisis than police stats show,
because many cases go unreported,” van Aswegen told BBC News.
“I’ve never seen a case blow up like this in South Africa before.”
Last year, 632 children were reported missing.
Over 8,700 have disappeared in the past decade.
The urgency to tackle this crisis is clear.
Despite the verdict, Joshlin’s adoptive family holds onto hope.
Natasha Andrews’ 14-year-old daughter, Tayla, wrote a poem expressing pain and longing.
“We just want to hug you again,” Andrews said.
“You are our flower, our baby, and our green-eyed child.”
