A South African woman found guilty of kidnapping and trafficking her six-year-old daughter has received a life sentence, along with her two accomplices.
The sentences for Racquel “Kelly” Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis, and their friend Steveno van Rhyn come over a year after Joshlin Smith mysteriously vanished from outside her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town.
Despite an extensively publicized search for the girl, who disappeared in February 2024, she has not yet been located.
The sentencing follows a six-week trial that captured the attention of South Africa, with witnesses and prosecutors presenting numerous shocking claims.
Judge Nathan Erasmus stated he “drew no distinction” among the trio when imposing the sentences.
“For the human trafficking charge, you are sentenced to life imprisonment. For the kidnapping charge, you are sentenced to 10 years imprisonment,” he announced to loud applause in the courtroom.
Judge Erasmus took over an hour to deliver the sentence, carefully summarizing the case and emphasizing key points that emerged during the trial.
He criticized the trio, particularly Mr. van Rhyn and Ms. Smith, for showing no remorse for their actions.
“There is nothing I can find that is redeeming or warrants a lesser sentence,” he remarked.
He also addressed the effect their actions had on the community of Middelpos, where the girl resided, stating it had left the residents “fractured”.
Smith, 35, and her accomplices displayed no emotion as their sentences were announced in the community center in Saldanha, where the trial was conducted to accommodate local residents.
Emotions ran high prior to the sentencing, with furious community members asserting that the trio should receive a “severe sentence because they deserve it”.
Before the sentencing, Joshlin’s grandmother, Amanda Smith-Daniels, once again implored her daughter to “bring my [grand]child back or inform me of her whereabouts”.
“I don’t believe that any sentence they receive will bring my grandchild back,” she expressed to local broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.
Ms. Smith-Daniels stated that Joshlin’s disappearance had left her family “devastated”.
She urged her daughter to cease blaming others for her misfortunes, emphasizing that she “was the one who committed the act”.
Throughout the trial, the court heard from over 30 witnesses, who illustrated the young girl’s troubled existence and subsequent vanishing.
Kelly Smith and her accomplices declined to testify or present any witnesses for their defense.
The most shocking testimony came from Lourentia Lombaard, a friend and neighbor of Smith who became a state witness.
Ms. Lombaard claimed that Smith confided in her that she had done “something foolish” and sold Joshlin to a traditional healer, referred to in South Africa as a “sangoma”.
The “individual who [allegedly took] Joshlin desired her for her eyes and skin,” Ms. Lombaard informed the court.
A local pastor testified that in 2023, he had overheard Smith – a mother of three – discussing selling her children for 20,000 rand ($1,100; £850) each, although she mentioned she would accept a lower amount of $275.
Joshlin’s teacher then claimed in court that Smith had told her during the search that her daughter was already “on a ship, inside a container, and they were en route to West Africa”.
The testimonies provided by Ms. Lombard and the clergyman were crucial in achieving a conviction.
In the sentencing hearings, Smith was characterized as manipulative and as an individual who told “bald-faced lies.” A social worker assigned to prepare a report on Smith and her accomplices even suggested that it would not be unreasonable to conclude that [Kelly] Smith is the orchestrator of the trafficking of her own daughter.
Additionally, the court received compelling statements from individuals familiar with Joshlin, highlighting the profound impact her disappearance had on the community.
