A mother has gone on trial accused of kidnapping and selling her young daughter in South Africa.
Kelly Smith, whose full name is Racquel Chantel Smith, denies organising the abduction of her daughter Joshlin in February 2024 in return for a payment.
She has pleaded not guilty to the charges alongside two men – her partner, Jacquin Appollis and friend Steveno van Rhyn.
Their trial began on Monday in a sports hall in the small coastal town of Saldanha Bay, in the southwest of the country, around 72 miles (116km) north of Cape Town.
Joshlin, who was six when she disappeared, is still missing following a nationwide police hunt.
Smith won sympathy across South Africa in the early days of Joshlin’s disappearance, and neighbours joined together to help police search for the child in sand dunes near the settlement of shacks and small houses where they lived.
Smith claimed she left Joshlin with Appollis on the day she went missing and had not seen her again, but police later arrested her.
The home where Joshlin lived with her mother in a suburb of Saldanha Bay. File pic: Reuters
Another woman who was arrested was not charged and is reportedly due to testify as a state witness.
In court documents, the prosecution claims Smith had been planning to sell Joshlin and her two other children since August 2023, although only Joshlin went missing.
They also alleged that Smith and Joshlin were seen getting into a white vehicle with a bag of clothes the day the girl was reported missing.
Kelly Smith (wearing blue jacket standing at bench) and co-defendants Jacquen Appolis and Stevano van Rhyn at a court hearing in March 2024. File pic: Reuters
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The case has provoked anger in the community, with crowds outside the sports hall chanting: “We want Joshlin back,” according to local media reports.
In March 2024, similar protests were held during a pre-trial hearing for the three defendants at the magistrates court in Vredenburg, Saldanha Bay.
Protests outside the Vredenburg magistrate court during a previous hearing. File pic: Reuters
A police appeal to find Joshlin remains on the South African Police Service (SAPS) website. It reads: “Racheline Smith, 6 years disappeared on Monday morning [19 February 2024] at 9am.
“She was last seen at Middelpos Saldanha [suburb], wearing blue t-shirt and blue denim trousers, with birthmark on right arm.”
Judge Nathan Erasmus said the three defendants could face life in prison if found guilty. The trial continues.
