The Daily Populous Thursday May 29th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by abcnews.go.com and submitted by Mrk2d

A South African woman has been sentenced to life in prison for selling her 6-year-old daughter

A South African woman is sentenced to life in prison for selling her young daughter

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- A South African woman was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for selling her 6-year-old daughter.

Kelly Smith was sentenced by a judge alongside two others, her boyfriend and another man, who also received life sentences. All three were convicted earlier this month on kidnapping and human trafficking charges.

Smith's daughter, Joshlin, went missing in February 2024 when she was 6, sparking a nationwide hunt by police in South Africa. She has still not been found.

Smith, boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn were sentenced to life terms for human trafficking and 10 years each for kidnapping.

Their sentences were read out by Judge Nathan Erasmus at a sports center in the west coast town of Saldanha Bay. The trial was moved to the sports center so members of the local community could attend.

Smith — whose full name is Racquel Chantel Smith — was initially a figure of sympathy when her daughter went missing. Community members rallied around her and volunteered to help police search for Joshlin in the sand dunes near their poor neighborhood of shacks close to Saldanha Bay, around 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Cape Town.

A photograph of Joshlin smiling and with her hair tied in pigtails was broadcast by news stations across South Africa during the hunt for her.

Smith said she had left Joshlin with Appollis on the day she disappeared, but the case took a shocking twist when Smith was arrested.

A woman testified during the trial that Smith had told her she and the two men had sold Joshlin for around $1,000 to a traditional healer who wanted the child for her body parts.

The judge’s verdict did not make any conclusions on who the child was sold to or exactly what happened to her, but said she had been sold for slavery or practices similar to slavery.

CozyBlueCacaoFire on May 29th, 2025 at 14:51 UTC »

I followed the entire case through CapeTalk's coverage - and I 100% agree with the court - the judge was extremely sympathetic to the defendant and state - and he held the trial in the community multi-purpose centre, ensuring the community feels part of the trial as well.

The NPA did really good work here.

Unfortunately Joshlin is dead - I am 99% sure of this, since albino kids are highly sought after for their organs and skin.

The boyfriend and friend's friend are absolute trash, and the lady who ratted on them are trash as well for not coming forward earlier. Fuck them.

Joshlin's grandmother fought tooth and nail to get custody of Joshlin and her siblings before this happened, but the social services failed spectacularly - the grandma said that Joshlin's mother made their lives hell and abused and neglected all the kids - but still she retained custody for some ungodly reason.

This is a failure of state and a testament to the fact that South Africa do not care about their children - every day there's a story of a child found raped and murdered under some bush, and still nothing is being done by the government.

Reyway on May 29th, 2025 at 14:22 UTC »

In South Africa, it is called "Muti".

Witchdoctors are unfortunately still a thing in rural parts.

Mrk2d on May 29th, 2025 at 14:03 UTC »

A woman testified during the trial that Smith had told her she and the two men had sold Joshlin for around $1,000 to a traditional healer who wanted the child for her body parts.