The High Court of South Africa has sentenced Kelly Smith to life imprisonment after she was found guilty of trafficking her six-year-old daughter, Joshlin Smith, in a heartbreaking case that has gripped the nation since the child’s disappearance last year.
Kelly Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis, and their accomplice Steveno Van Rhyn were all convicted of kidnapping and child trafficking.
According to testimonies in court, Smith confessed to handing over her daughter to a sangoma (traditional healer) in exchange for 20,000 rand (over 1.5 million Rwandan francs), with claims that the child was needed for her “eyes and skin.”
Despite extensive efforts and a long-running police investigation, Joshlin’s whereabouts remain unknown.
Delivering the verdict on Thursday, Judge Nathan Erasmus stated that the trio’s drug addiction was no excuse.
Judge Erasmus said: “I see absolutely no reason why they should receive anything less than the maximum sentence.”
For the kidnapping charge, each of the three was given 10 years in prison, in addition to the life sentence for child trafficking.
This case has laid bare the horrifying reality of human trafficking in South Africa and has renewed calls from both authorities and citizens to strengthen child protection, particularly in vulnerable families affected by poverty and substance abuse.
To this day, the fate of Joshlin Smith remains unknown.
