A SICK mother who a court heard “sold her daughter for her eyes and skin” has been sentenced to life in prison.
Racquel “Kelly” Smith from South Africa, along with two accomplices, was imprisoned after being convicted of kidnapping and trafficking her own six-year-old daughter.
The trial heard that the child, Joshlin Smith, was sold to a traditional healer for her body parts and never seen again.
Smith’s boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn were also jailed.
A witness said Smith had spoken of selling her children for 20,000 rand (£850) each.
One witness stated that Smith intended to sell her daughter to a healer, known locally as a “sangoma,” who was interested in the child because of her striking green eyes and light skin.
Joshlin vanished from her outside her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town, in February 2024.
Smith claimed she left her child with her boyfriend when she went missing.
A desperate, highly-publicised search followed, with a minister stepping in to offer a one-million-rand (£41,400) reward for her safe return.
The child’s image was broadcast around South Africa.
But Joshlin was never found, and suspicion turned onto her mother.
The trial verdict did not make any conclusions about what exactly had happened to Joshlin – only that the three had sold her.
Judge Nathan Erasmus, sentencing, said he “drew no distinction” between the twisted trio’s roles in the crime.
He sentenced each of them to life in prison on the human trafficking charge, and a concurrent 10 years on the kidnapping charge.
The depraved bunch showed no emotion as they learned their sentences outside the local community centre in Saldanha.
The sentencing on Thursday concluded a six-week trial that had a significant impact on South Africa. It was held in a sports center in the family’s hometown to allow community members to observe the proceedings.
When Joshlin was first reported missing, there had been an outpouring of sympathy for Smith.
Community members rallied around her and helped with the police search.
But, during the trial, the court heard testimonies from more than 30 witnesses who painted a picture of the young girl’s troubled life.
The grim details of Joshlin’s alleged sale came from Lourentia Lombaard, a friend and neighbour of Smith.
A local pastor testified that in 2023 he had heard Smith – a mother of three – talk of selling her children for 20,000 rand (£850) each, but saying she would take a lower figure of around £200.
Joshlin’s teacher then testified that Smith told her during the search that her daughter was already “on a ship, inside a container, and they were on the way to West Africa”.
During sentencing hearings, Smith was described as manipulative and a teller of “bald-faced lies”.
A social worker tasked with compiling a report on the three traffickers said it would not be a “stretch to conclude that [Kelly] Smith is the mastermind behind the trafficking of her own daughter”.
Saldanha Bay is a fishing town 85 miles north of Cape Town.
