Mother convicted of trafficking her six-year-old daughter in South Africa

A mother and her two accomplices have been found guilty of kidnapping and trafficking her six-year-old daughter, in a case that gained nationwide attention.

Joshlin Smith, then 6, disappeared from her home in the small town of Middelpos, Saldanha Bay, in Western Cape province on February 19, 2024, and a nationwide search began.

At the time, police called for “every citizen, every person” to help find her amid fears she may have been taken to a different city or even out of the country. She still has not been found.

Joshlin's mother, Kelly Smith, her boyfriend, Jacquen Apollis and their friend, Steveno Van Rhyn were accused of selling the child for a fee.

The trio each pleaded not guilty as the trial opened. On Friday, a judge at the Western Cape High Court found all three guilty of kidnapping and trafficking.

"The conduct of ... Ms Smith is not that of a concerned parent. And why not? In my mind, the only inference is that you knew (what happened)," said Judge Nathan Erasmus on Friday, addressing Smith, who sat in the courtroom but did not speak.

In a case that shocked South Africa, one of the witnesses had said in court that Smith told her she had sold her daughter to a sangoma, or traditional healer, for 20,000 rand ($1,100) and that the girl was desired for her "eyes and skin".

The judge did not say in his ruling who the girl was sold to or why.

Smith – whose full name is Racquel Chantel Smith – won sympathy across South Africa in the early days of her daughter’s disappearance. Neighbours joined forces to help police search for the girl in sand dunes near the impoverished settlement of shacks and small houses where they lived.

Smith claimed she left Joshlin with Appollis on the day she went missing in February 2024 and had not seen her again.

The three convicted will be remanded in custody ahead of sentencing.