Everything we know about missing girl as mum sentenced to life for selling her to 'healer' for £800

Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find upsetting

There was a mixture of horror and disbelief at a court sentencing in South Africa yesterday as a mother was sentenced to life in prison after selling her six-year-old daughter for just £800.

South African police have been searching for Joshlin Smith since she first went missing last year, when she was just six-years-old.

However, following an eight-week trial which captivated the country, the mother Racquel 'Kelly' Smith, and her two accomplices Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn, were convicted of kidnapping and trafficking Joshlin at a sentencing yesterday (29 May).

Here is everything we know so far about the missing girl:

Protests were held outside the court following the initial arrest last year (Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images)

When did Joshlin Smith go missing?

Joshlin Smith first went missing in February 2024, with police and the public both on high alert after she disappeared from her home town of Saldanha Bay.

The seaside town, around 75 miles north west of Cape Town, was quickly dragged into a media frenzy which saw children afraid to attend her school, with fake news such as alleged sightings and reports of a body being found sadly rife.

Soon after her disappearance, Gayton McKenzie, the leader of the populist, minority Patriotic Alliance party and now sport and culture minister, offered a 1m rand (£42,000) reward for her safe return.

Community activist Carmelite Ross said: "I've never experienced such unity in this community.

"Everyone, no matter what race or culture - they were all there helping with the search. I saw the unity in our people."

Joshlin Smith was just six when she was sold by her mother (Executive Mayor Andrè Truter/ Facebook)

Mother Kelly Smith’s arrest

The case was made even more interesting after Joshlin's mother was first arrested alongside three men, two weeks after Joshlin went missing.

Smith, Appollis and van Rhyn first appeared in the local magistrate's court on 7 March on charges of human trafficking and kidnapping. A large crowd of local people gathered around the court to call for 'justice for Joshlin'.

Witness's claims at the trial about the little girl’s whereabouts

Prosecutors during the trial alleged that Joshlin had been sold into slavery but this was not proven.

However, there were more than 30 witnesses who came forward and shared insights into the young girl's troubled life at the hands of her mother, who is a known drug addict.

Perhaps the most explosive allegation came from Lourentia Lombaard, a friend and neighbour of Smith who suggested that Joshlin had been sold to a traditional healer, known in South Africa as a 'sangoma'.

The 'person who [allegedly took] Joshlin wanted her for her eyes and skin', Ms Lombaard told the court.

It was suggested that Smith accepted just 20,000 rand (£800) in exchange for her daughter.

Kelly Smith was sentenced to life in prison yesterday (RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images)

Where is Joshlin now?

Sadly, Joshlin remains missing, with her mother showing little remorse and providing seemingly no real information during the court case as to where she might be.

Speaking on the trial verdict, Western Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant Thembisile Patekile praised the 'meticulous investigative work' that went into the case.

He said: "While no sentence can erase the pain caused by the heartbreaking disappearance of young Joshlin, this outcome offers a measure of closure and sends a powerful message: crimes against our most vulnerable citizens will not go unpunished.

"The search for Joshlin remains active, and SAPS is fully committed to exploring every possible lead in this tragic matter."

He also suggested the search could go beyond South Africa, adding: "We will not rest until we find [out] what happened to Joshlin. We are continuing day and night looking for her."