Written by Lisa Murimi
The mother of a six-year-old girl who vanished over a year ago has gone on trial, accused of orchestrating her own daughter’s kidnapping.
Kelly Smith, along with her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn, were arrested following the disappearance of six-year-old Joshlin Smith in February last year.
The child was last seen outside her home in Saldanha Bay, a coastal town near Cape Town.
Joshlin’s disappearance sparked national outrage and a highly publicized search effort, yet she remains missing.
Smith initially claimed her daughter had vanished while under Appollis’s care, but prosecutors now allege she “sold, delivered, or exchanged” Joshlin and later misled authorities about the circumstances of her disappearance.
All three accused have pleaded not guilty to charges of human trafficking and kidnapping.
The case has gripped South Africa, with many expressing shock and fear over the possibility that a mother could be involved in such a crime.
The trial is expected to reveal further details about what happened to Joshlin, as the country continues to hope for answers about the young girl’s fate.
