₦airaland Forum

South African Mom who sold daughter, 6, so her eyes and skin could be cut out and used for 'medicine' gets life in prison

A mom who sold her 6-year-old daughter so her skin and eyes could be cut out and used by a “traditional healer” had been sentenced to life in prison in South Africa.

Racquel “Kelly” Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis, and their friend Steveno van Rhyn were all handed life sentences more than a year after the mysterious disappearance of Joshlin Smith from outside her home near Cape Town.

When Joshlin first disappeared, her mother was a figure of sympathy, and pictures of the girl’s striking green eyes, pigtails and broad smile were shared across the country.

https://www.hostpic.org/images/2505292149190113.jpg

6-year-old Joshlin Smith mysteriously vanished from outside her home near Cape Town last year.

Smith showed no emotion as her sentence was handed down, bringing an end to an eight-week trial that had to be moved to a local stadium so horrified members of the community could bear witness.

She admitted to selling her daughter to a traditional healer, or sangoma, for 20,000 rand ($1,100), and said the girl was desired for her “eyes and skin,” a witness told the court.

Joshlin’s body has still not been found despite an extensive nationwide search since she went missing in February 2024.


The trio are believed to have sold the little girl to the healer to fund their drug addictions, the court heard.

Mom-of-three Smith was described as manipulative and had shown “no indication of remorse” or concern over her daughter’s disappearance, Judge Nathan Erasmus said in court.

All three were also sentenced to a concurrent 10 years imprisonment for kidnapping.

“I am also ordering the entry of your names to the child protection register. There is nothing that I can find that is redeeming and deserving of a lesser sentence than the harshest I can impose,” Judge Erasmus told the defendants.

There were cheers in the courtroom as the verdict was read out.

Joshlin’s distraught grandmother, Amanda Smith Daniels, was present in court for the verdict, wearing a white shirt emblazoned with images of her granddaughter.

During the initial search for the girl, one government minister offered a one-million-rand reward ($54,000) for Joshlin’s safe return.

The girl was desired for her “eyes and skin,” a witness told the court.

But sympathy for Smith evaporated when prosecutors first alleged that she had sold her daughter to a healer.

Since the start of the trial in March, witnesses, including the girl’s former teacher and a pastor, said that Smith had told them of the planned sale of her child as far back as 2023.

The ongoing search for Joshlin has now been extended beyond South Africa’s borders, police said on Thursday.

South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world, with soaring rates of child kidnapping.

In the last year, the Rainbow Nation saw more than 17,000 kidnappings, an 11% increase on the previous year, according to police statistics.

All three were also sentenced to a concurrent 10 years imprisonment for kidnapping.

BlackViper:
And for doing this they got 10 years?!?😡🤬
Sometimes, not every time, but sometimes:
Jungle Justice is better than court justice

immaculatesense:
Na the woman face una suppose show, not the baby.
Let's see the eyes of the criminal in the market square.

BlackViper:
https://nypost.com/2025/05/29/world-news/south-african-mom-kelly-smith-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-trafficking-6-year-old-daughter-joshlin-smith/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nypost

BlackViper:
And for doing this they got 10 years?!?😡🤬
Sometimes, not every time, but sometimes:
Jungle Justice is better than court justice

doggedfighter:
Where are all these South African bloggers ?

Rand digital