A six-year-old girl who went missing last year was allegedly targeted by a ‘healer’ for her ‘light eyes and skin,’ a court has revealed.
Joshlin Smith disappeared in February 2024, and her mother, Kelly Smith, is accused of orchestrating the kidnapping from their hometown in South Africa.
The young girl, with a fair complexion and turquoise eyes, vanished outside their home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town, sparking a high-profile search effort, as reported by the BBC.
Since then, Kelly, along with her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn, have been charged with human trafficking and kidnapping.
All three have pleaded not guilty and will remain in custody.
In the days following Joshlin’s disappearance, local media reported that neighbors accused Kelly, also known as Racquel Chantel Smith, of selling her daughter for just over $1,000.
During the first week of the trial, the court heard testimony from a local pastor who claimed that Kelly, a mother of three, spoke about selling her children for 20,000 rand (roughly $1,100).
Lourentia Lombaard, Kelly’s friend and neighbor, testified that in the days before Joshlin’s disappearance, Kelly confessed to her that she had sold her daughter to a ‘sangoma,’ a traditional healer.
Joshlin Smith, a six-year-old girl who went missing last year, was allegedly targeted by a ‘healer’ for her ‘light eyes and skin,’ a court has revealed.
Lombaard later witnessed Kelly packing some of Joshlin’s clothing into a black bag, which she carried when meeting a woman she believes to be the sangoma.
According to Lombaard, Kelly climbed into a white car with Joshlin and the sangoma, and they drove away together.
Lombaard claimed, “The person who took Joshlin wanted her for her eyes and skin.” However, it remains unclear why the sangoma was specifically interested in a child with these features.
A woman, believed to be the sangoma, was arrested along with the other defendants last year, but the charges against her were dropped due to insufficient evidence.
Sangomas are recognized in South Africa under the Traditional Health Practitioners Act of 2007, and it is believed they can communicate with ancestral spirits who guide their healing practices.
Despite a large-scale search operation involving police, firefighters, city authorities, and specialized sniffer dog units, Joshlin remains missing.
Joshlin Smith (pictured) disappeared last year.
Pictured, from left to right on the stand: Jacquin Appollis (mother’s boyfriend), Stefano van Rhyn (mother’s friend), Kelly Smith (mother of Joslin Smith), and Phumza Sigaqa during the Joslin Smith disappearance case at Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court this month.
Police reported that children’s clothing was found last weekend near the settlement of small houses and shacks where Joshlin lived. The clothing was sent for forensic examination.
Community members, who are also part of the search, stated that the clothing was bloodstained, and a knife was also discovered. Police have not provided further details about the findings.
Prosecutors revealed in court documents released Thursday that Kelly Smith and the others conspired to abduct Joshlin and intentionally sold, delivered, or exchanged her.
The suspects could face a life sentence if convicted of the primary charge of human trafficking.
The four suspects were escorted from the courthouse in Vredenburg, a town near Saldanha Bay, in an armored police van as a large crowd gathered outside, repeatedly shouting, “Justice for Joshlin.”
Kelly Smith (pictured in court) has been accused of masterminding her daughter’s kidnapping.
Western Cape province police commissioner Thembisile Patekile told reporters that more arrests could follow, but authorities also needed to re-focus on the search for Joshlin.
“At this stage, we do not have a child,” he said. “Our ultimate goal is to find the child. We still want to find that child alive.”
Authorities have used different spellings for the girl’s name. Police identified her as Joslin, while prosecutors referred to her as Joshlin in their documents. The correct spelling of her name could not be immediately verified.
