Missing South African Child Allegedly Targeted for Her Features
A court has heard that a young South African girl, who vanished last year at the age of six, was allegedly targeted by a traditional healer due to her eye color and fair skin. This claim surfaced during the trial of Kelly Smith, the girl's mother, who is accused of orchestrating her daughter's abduction.
Kelly Smith, along with her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn, has denied charges of human trafficking and kidnapping. The disappearance of Joshlin Smith in February 2024 from her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town, shocked the nation. Despite extensive efforts to find her, she remains missing.
Initially, Ms. Smith claimed that Joshlin, who has blue-green eyes and a light complexion, disappeared while under Mr. Appollis's care. Prosecutors later accused her of having "sold, delivered, or exchanged" the child and misleading authorities about the circumstances of her disappearance.
The trial, now in its third week, is taking place at a community center in Saldanha. During the first week, the court learned that Ms. Smith waited over six hours to report her daughter missing and seemed more concerned about her boyfriend than her child during the search.
In the second week, a local pastor testified that Ms. Smith had previously mentioned selling her children for 20,000 rand each, although she was willing to accept as little as $275. Joshlin's teacher also testified that Ms. Smith had claimed her daughter was already "on a ship, inside a container, heading to West Africa."
The most startling testimony came from Lourentia Lombaard, a friend and neighbor of Ms. Smith, who turned state witness. She recounted how Ms. Smith confessed to selling her daughter to a traditional healer, known as a "sangoma," due to financial desperation. Ms. Lombaard said she witnessed Ms. Smith packing a bag for Joshlin and saw them leave with a woman believed to be the sangoma.
On her final day of testimony, Ms. Lombaard told the court that the person who allegedly took Joshlin wanted her for her eyes and skin. The court did not clarify why a sangoma would seek a child for these reasons.
A woman initially arrested and charged alongside Ms. Smith and her co-defendants was later released due to insufficient evidence. In South Africa, sangomas are legally recognized under the Traditional Health Practitioners Act of 2007. While they are respected for their cultural roles, some exploit traditional practices for dubious purposes, including selling charms made from body parts.
Ms. Lombaard expressed regret for her involvement in the case, stating she had unsuccessfully tried to prevent Ms. Smith from selling her daughter. She pleaded for the child's safe return.
The trial is anticipated to continue until March 28.