Joshlin Smith, a 6-year-old South African girl, disappeared from her home in 2024. Authorities now believe they have figured out the reason behind her disappearance and have filed charges against suspects in the case. Still, they have not been able to locate her. Officials now believe traditional healers sought the girl because of her light skin complexion and green eyes.
Sadly, police accuse the girl’s mother, Kelly Smith, of orchestrating the kidnapping and selling her daughter.
Joshlin’s mother and two men are on trial.
Kelly Smith is currently on trial in connection with her daughter’s disappearance, the BBC reports. Joshlin was last seen in February 2024, outside of her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town. While the search for her has made national news in South Africa, authorities have not found her.
Since she went missing, detectives have landed on her mother as a suspect. Kelly Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis, and their friend Steveno van Rhyn, have all pleaded not guilty to human trafficking and kidnapping charges, after being accused of selling Joshlin.
A year has passed since six-year-old Joshlin Smith went missing.
— The Instigator (@Am_Blujay) February 19, 2025
Joshlin disappeared from her residence in the Middelpos informal settlement, located in Saldanha Bay. pic.twitter.com/Bi90XzOQf9
Witnesses said Smith appeared calm during the search for her daughter.
Initially, Joshlin’s mother told authorities that her daughter went missing while Appollis was watching her. Now prosecutors believe Smith “sold, delivered or exchanged” her daughter and then lied about her whereabouts. The trial, which is still in progress, is in its third week.
In the first week, the jury learned that Smith notified law enforcement six hours after she first noticed her daughter had gone missing. Prosecutors claimed that during the initial search, Smith appeared calm and more worried about her boyfriend than her missing child.
One witness said Smith claimed her daughter was on a boat to West Africa.
In the second week, a pastor testified that he’d heard Smith mention selling her three children, including her daughter, for the equivalent of $1,100 each, since 2023. He also said that she would accept as low as $275. Joshlin’s teacher testified that she heard Smith say that her daughter was already “on a ship, inside a container, and they were on the way to West Africa.”
The trial became even more salacious when Smith’s neighbor and friend, Lourentia Lombaard, provided her testimony for the court. Lombaard, who was an initial suspect in the case, shed tears as she spoke about using drugs with Smith in the past. She also provided details about February 18, 2024, the day of Joshlin’s disappearance, CapeTown Etc. reports.
Lorentia Lombaard became emotional and broke down while testifying in the Joshlin Smith kidnapping trial, prompting the judge to call a 15-minute recess pic.twitter.com/ifWUmrpw6t
— News Live SA (@newslivesa) March 19, 2025
While Lombaard initially claimed that Smith’s children were with her on that day, she changed her answer when pushed. She eventually broke down in distress. Her collapse was so severe Judge Nathan Erasmus called for a recess. When Lombaard admitted to finally telling “the whole truth,” she claimed that Smith confessed to her saying, “I did something silly… I sold my child to a sangoma,” the BBC reports.
A sangoma is a traditional South African healer. Lombaard said Smith sold her daughter because she was desperate for money. She also claimed Smith promised money to the people who knew of her plan in exchange for their silence. Lombaard said she witnessed Smith packing clothes for Joshlin before taking her to meet a woman who she believes was the sangoma. On her last day on the stand, Lombaard said the “person who [allegedly took] Joshlin wanted her for her eyes and skin.”
The alleged sangoma was arrested and charged along with Smith last year. Authorities later dropped the charges due to lack of evidence. During her testimony, Lombaard expressed regret for her role in Joshlin’s disappearance. She pleaded with the person who took her to “please bring her back alive.” The trial is expected to continue until March 28, 2025.
