May 06, 2025
Racquel "Kelly" Smith, a South African mother whose missing child still remains to be found, broke down in a Johannesburg court this week as she was found guilty on kidnapping and trafficking charges involving her own daughter.
Kelly Smith was accused of selling, delivering, or exchanging her own child.
Her boyfriend, Jacquen Appollis, and their friend, Steveno van Rhyn, have also been found guilty of kidnapping and trafficking Joshlin.
Six-year-old Joshlin Smith should be in school with her classmates, instead, she is missing, possibly "on a ship, inside a container, on the way to West Africa," alleges her teacher, who claims she learned this information from Joshlin’s own mother, Kelly Smith.
Joshlin went missing from outside her home in Saldanha Bay, 75 miles from Cape Town, in February 2024.
Joshlin lived in an impoverished area known as Middlepos, an area comprised of open land, shanty towns built from corrugated iron sheets, and basic brick houses. Those living there now fear for the safety of their own children and no longer allow them to walk to and from school by themselves. The children are afraid of being snatched away from their families and prefer to stay within the safety of their own homes over playing outside like they used to.
According to Missing Children: South Africa: "Children GO MISSING DAILY in South Africa! According to the last figures released by the South African Police Service Missing Persons Bureau (SAPS) for 2013, children go missing every 5 hours."
The charity reports that 77% of missing children are found, however the remaining 23% are never located and thought to be either trafficked or killed.
Her classmates continue to pray for Joshlin’s safe return. They write down messages to her which hang in the school hall, sing her favorite song, and are caring for a plant they are growing in her honor.
Eyes and ears across the nation tuned into the story and updates, but despite the attention garnered, involvement of the navy, and the tireless work of local volunteers searching for her, Joshin has not been found.
Both factual information about the case, as well as misinformation, spread across social media like wildfire. Although the word got out and images of Joshlin were circulated on a large scale, misinformation led to tensions in the community and baseless arrests.
Earlier in the search for Joshlin, before her mother was arrested and charged, she said: "My motherly instincts are telling me my daughter is still alive and in this area. We will find her; I will walk on foot to find her. I will look in every little shack, I'm going to do it by myself if I have to."
Smith claimed that she had left Joshlin with Jacquen Appollis at the time she went missing, but the prosecutors said she was lying. According to media outlets, it took the mother six hours to report the child missing, and those in the community said she did not appear panicked during the search.
Images of missing Joshlin were circulated, her pale skin and blue-green eyes standing out.
It is believed these unique features are what lead to her disappearance- and why her mother, mother’s boyfriend, and their mutual friend, are facing prison time for what is believed to be an orchestrated kidnapping to a local healer.
One witness, Lourentia Lombaard, a neighbor of Kelly Smith, made a testimony to the court that shocked those following the case.
She alleged that Kelly Smith came to her one day, saying she had "done something silly." When asked to elaborate, Lombaard claims Kelly had explained that she sold Joshlin to a sangoma, a type of traditional healer in South Africa.
She claimed the healer wanted Joshlin "for her eyes and skin."
Reports state that Ms Lombaard has been viewed as something of an opportunist by Smith’s lawyer, who said there was inconsistencies in her statements.
A local pastor shared a similar account to Smith’s neighbor, saying he had heard Smith talk about selling her children, of which she has three, for $1,100 each. The pastor said he had heard Smith stating she would also accept $275.
On May 2, 2025, the BBC reported that a few days after Joshlin’s disappearance, a woman named Ms Liwani Sigaqa was arrested when she was misidentified as a sangoma. Ms. Sigaqa was eventually released and charges were dropped, however, she went on to tell media outlets in South Africa that she was tortured by police whilst held.
Sangomas practice traditional African medicine in Southern Africa, they are a type of diviner who are said to practice divination, as well as healing both physical, emotional and spiritual sickness. It is believed that they are able to counteract supernatural harm to a person, help to locate cattle that strays away, and also take part in birth and death rituals.
In South Africa Sangomas are legally recognized as "traditional health practitioners," in the same category as herbalists and traditional surgeons.
There are thought to be upwards of 200,000 in South Africa, and 60% of the population will consult with them in tandem with modern doctors.
It is not unheard of for members of the public to come into contact with individuals working under the guise of Sangomas for nefarious purposes. Many of whom are said to sell talismans made from the body parts of humans.
After the guilty verdict was announced, Kelly Smith’s mother said she did not want to see or look at her daughter, lamenting the loss of her granddaughter and pleading for her return.
Joshlin Smith remains missing.
Anroux Marais, Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, was satisfied with the conviction of Smith, Appollis, and Van Rhyn, however, painfully aware that human trafficking needs to be addressed and prevented.
She said: “We need to drastically improve our understanding and awareness of human trafficking, as well as efforts to prevent and combat this scourge.”
Adding: “I hope this conviction sends out a clear message that our justice system will deal decisively with those who exploit vulnerable people, particularly children. I urge authorities to continue with their efforts to find little Joshlin and bring her home.”
April 29, 2025
