Mother convicted for trafficking 6-year-old daughter to traditional healer for 'eyes and skin'

The courts heard from witnesses that Kelly Smith sold Joshlin Smith for her "eyes and skin" to a traditional healer.

Joshlin Smith's mother, Kelly, and co-accused sit during court trial in Saldanha Bay, South Africa, May 2, 2025 (photo credit: REUTERS/SHAFIEK TASSIEM)
Joshlin Smith's mother, Kelly, and co-accused sit during court trial in Saldanha Bay, South Africa, May 2, 2025
(photo credit: REUTERS/SHAFIEK TASSIEM)

South African mother Kelly Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno Van Rhun were convicted and sentenced by a South African court after it was discovered that they were behind the abduction and trafficking of Smith's 6-year-old daughter Joshlin.

Prosecutors said that they believed the girl had been sold into slavery, according to BBC News, though this has not been proven, although some believe that Joshlin was trafficked to a 'traditional healer' for her “eyes and skin.” 

Lourentia Lombaard, a friend and neighbour of Smith, told the court that Smith had joked about selling her child to a "sangoma" (a traditional healer). The "person who [allegedly took] Joshlin wanted her for her eyes and skin," Lombaard told the court.

A local priest also testified that he had heard Smith discussing selling her children for as low an amount as 5,000 rands (approximately $275 or NIS 1000).

An undated handout image circulated by the South African Police Services which they say shows 6-year-old Joshlin Smith, who disappeared from her home in Saldanha Bay, South Africa in February 2024. (credit: SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICES/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
An undated handout image circulated by the South African Police Services which they say shows 6-year-old Joshlin Smith, who disappeared from her home in Saldanha Bay, South Africa in February 2024. (credit: SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICES/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

Sentencing of trio that trafficked Joshlin Smith

Smith received a life sentence on Thursday, over a year after her daughter, Joshlin Smith, first went missing in February 2024 in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town. The young girl has still not been found, despite ministers offering a one-million-rand reward for her return.

"We will not rest until we find [out] what happened to Joshlin. We are continuing day and night looking for her," Western Cape police commissioner Thembisile Patekile told local media.

Amanda Smith Daniels, grandmother of Joshlin Smith, awaits the start of the sentencing hearing at the Western Cape High Court in Saldanha Bay, South Africa, May 29, 2025. A South African judge is expected to sentence Kelly Smith and her two accomplices after they were found guilty of kidnapping and  (credit: SUMAYA HISHAM/REUTERS)
Amanda Smith Daniels, grandmother of Joshlin Smith, awaits the start of the sentencing hearing at the Western Cape High Court in Saldanha Bay, South Africa, May 29, 2025. A South African judge is expected to sentence Kelly Smith and her two accomplices after they were found guilty of kidnapping and (credit: SUMAYA HISHAM/REUTERS)

The trio was also sentenced to 10 years for Joshlin’s kidnapping.

Joshlin was sold to the 'traditional healer' for 20,000 rand (approximately $1,100 or NIS 4,300).

It was understood by the courts that the trio were drug addicts, a fact that high court judge Nathan Erasmus had little sympathy for. 

“I am also ordering the entry of your names to the child protection register. There is nothing that I can find that is redeeming and deserving of a lesser sentence than the harshest I can impose,” Judge Erasmus told the defendants.

Judge Erasmus also noted that the trio showed "no indication of remorse," a stance also reported by local media.

Joshlin's grandmother, Amanda Smith-Daniels, pleaded with her daughter before sentencing to "bring my [grand]child back or tell me where she is".

"I don't feel that any sentence they get will bring my grandchild back," she told local broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.