A South African mother, her boyfriend, and a friend have been sentenced to life imprisonment for selling her six-year-old daughter to a traditional healer, known as a sangoma, for the purpose of mutilation. The mother, Racquel “Kelly” Smith, along with Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn, were convicted over a year after the child, Joshlin Smith, vanished from her home near Cape Town.
Initially, the mother was seen as a grieving figure, with images of the missing child, notable for her green eyes and cheerful smile, widely circulated across the nation. However, the sympathy for Smith quickly faded as the horrifying truth emerged. Smith showed no emotion as her sentence was delivered, concluding an eight-week trial that had to be relocated to a local stadium to accommodate the shocked community members.
Smith confessed to selling her daughter to the sangoma for 20,000 rand (approximately $1,100). A witness in court revealed that the child was specifically sought for her “eyes and skin.” Despite a nationwide search since her disappearance in February 2024, Joshlin’s body has yet to be found.
The court heard that the trio sold the child to fuel their drug addictions. Smith, a mother of three, was characterized as manipulative, showing “no indication of remorse” or concern for her daughter’s disappearance, according to Judge Nathan Erasmus. In addition to their life sentences, all three were sentenced to a concurrent 10 years imprisonment for kidnapping.
Judge Erasmus also ordered the defendants’ names to be entered into the child protection register, stating, “There is nothing that I can find that is redeeming and deserving of a lesser sentence than the harshest I can impose.” The courtroom erupted in cheers as the verdict was announced.
Joshlin’s grieving grandmother, Amanda Smith Daniels, attended the court proceedings, wearing a shirt adorned with images of her granddaughter. During the initial search for Joshlin, a government minister had offered a one-million-rand reward (approximately $54,000) for her safe return.
Witnesses, including the girl’s former teacher and a pastor, testified that Smith had disclosed plans to sell her child as early as 2023. The search for Joshlin has now expanded beyond South Africa’s borders.
South Africa has one of the highest crime rates globally, with child kidnapping rates on the rise. In the past year, over 17,000 kidnappings were reported, marking an 11% increase from the previous year, according to police statistics.