Court convicts mother of trafficking her 6-year-old daughter

JOHANNESBURG, May 2, 2025: A South African court found Kelly Smith and her two accomplices guilty on Friday of kidnapping and trafficking her 6-year-old daughter, in a case that gained nationwide attention since the child went missing last year.

Joshlin Smith, then 6, disappeared from her home in the small town of Middelpos, Saldanha Bay, in Western Cape province on February 19, 2024 and a nationwide search began. She has not been found.

Joshlin’s mother, Kelly Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Apollis and their friend Steveno Van Rhyn were accused of selling the child for a fee. A judge at the Western Cape High Court found all three guilty of kidnapping and trafficking on Friday.

“The conduct of … Ms Smith is not that of a concerned parent. And why not? In my mind the only inference is that you knew (what happened),” said Judge Nathan Erasmus on Friday, addressing Smith, who sat in the courtroom but did not speak.

In a case that shocked South Africa, one of the witnesses had said in court that Smith told her she had sold her daughter to a sangoma, or traditional healer, for 20,000 rand ($1,100) and that the girl was desired for her “eyes and skin”.

The judge did not say in his ruling who the girl was sold to or why.

The three convicted will be remanded in custody ahead of sentencing.

About the case

Kelly Smith, a mother from South Africa, was accused of selling her six-year-old daughter Joshlin to a traditional healer, known as a sangoma, for 20,000 rand ($1,100). Joshlin went missing from her home in Middelpos, Saldanha Bay, Western Cape province, on February 19, 2024.

Smith, along with her boyfriend Jacquen Apollis and friend Steveno Van Rhyn, was arrested and charged with kidnapping and trafficking Joshlin. The investigation revealed that Smith had allegedly planned to get rid of her daughter, and the others assisted in carrying out the plan.