Latest news with #StevenoVanRhyn
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
South African woman sentenced to life for selling six-year-old daughter
A South African woman has been sentenced to life imprisonment alongside two accomplices for trafficking her then six-year-old daughter, in a case that gripped South Africa and gained international attention after the girl went missing last year. Racquel 'Kelly' Smith, her boyfriend, Jacquen Appollis, and their friend, Steveno van Rhyn, were convicted of kidnapping and trafficking Joshlin Smith, who disappeared from her home in a small township in the Western Cape in February 2024. Joshlin has still not been found, despite an extensive police search. During the trial, a witness said Smith had told her she had sold her daughter to a sangoma, a traditional healer, for 20,000 rand (£830) and that the girl had been desired for her 'eyes and skin'. Another witness, a pastor, said Smith told him in 2023 that she planned to sell her daughter. 'There is nothing that I can find that is redeeming and deserving of a lesser sentence than the harshest I can impose,' the high court judge Nathan Erasmus said. Erasmus also imposed a 10-year kidnapping sentence on the three, to run concurrently with the life sentence for human trafficking, and ordered their names be entered into the child protection register. Erasmus said the fact Smith, Appollis and Van Rhyn were drug users was no excuse and described Smith as 'a person who is manipulative and manipulates the facts as it suits you'. '[You] went as far as to blame your parents for your conduct in this matter,' the judge said during the sentencing in Saldanha Bay, a fishing town 85 miles north of Cape Town. 'The evidence presented as to the disappearance of your own daughter was clear. Besides on one occasion earlier and yesterday, I saw no indication of remorse, but it didn't start there because we know from 19 February 2024 the lack of concern.' Smith's mother, Amanda Daniels, was present at the sentencing, wearing a white T-shirt emblazoned with a photograph of Joshlin's face. The day before, a court officer read out a victim impact statement on her behalf, describing how she had 'cried my eyes out' on Mother's Day earlier in May. Daniels' statement said: 'Kelly, you have made our lives hell on earth. I feel like my heart has been ripped from my body. You have broken [this family] apart.' Daniels is now caring for Smith's two other children, of whom Joshlin was the middle child, and said she was constantly afraid they would go missing too. South Africa police said they had extended the search for Joshlin outside the country. 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. Kidnappings have soared recently in South Africa, with more than 17,000 in the 12 months to 31 March 2024, almost treble three years earlier, according to South African police data. Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to this story
Mail & Guardian
30-05-2025
- General
- Mail & Guardian
Three accused are going to jail but Joslin's fate remains unknown
Incarcerated: Judge Nathan Erasmus on Thursday sentenced Jacquen 'Boeta' Appollis, Steveno van Rhyn and Kelly Smith (above), convicted earlier this month of kidnapping and trafficking Joslin Smith, to 10 years in prison for the former and life imprisonment for the latter crime. The judge has handed down sentences — but a little girl is still missing and a community's anguish remains raw This content is restricted to subscribers only . Join the M&G Community Our commitment at the Mail & Guardian is to ensure every reader enjoys the finest experience. Join the M&G community and support us in delivering in-depth news to you consistently. Subscription enables: - M&G community membership - independent journalism - access to all premium articles & features - a digital version of the weekly newspaper - invites to subscriber-only events - the opportunity to test new online features first Already a subscriber?
News.com.au
30-05-2025
- General
- News.com.au
Mum sold 6yo daughter to have her eyes and skin cut out, gets life in prison
Warning: Distressing. A mum who sold her six-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, the on New York Post reports. 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. 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 (around $1742 Australian Dollars), and said the girl was desired for her 'eyes and skin,' a witness told the court. Joshlin's body has still not been found despite an extensive nationwide search since she went missing in February 2024. The trio are believed to have sold the little girl to the healer to fund their drug addictions, the court heard. Mum-of-three Smith was described as manipulative and had shown 'no indication of remorse' or concern over her daughter's disappearance, Judge Nathan Erasmus said in court. All three were also sentenced to a concurrent 10 years imprisonment for kidnapping. 'I am also ordering the entry of your names to the child protection register. There is nothing that I can find that is redeeming and deserving of a lesser sentence than the harshest I can impose,' Judge Erasmus told the defendants. There were cheers in the courtroom as the verdict was read out. Joshlin's distraught grandmother, Amanda Smith Daniels, was present in court for the verdict. During the initial search for the girl, one government minister offered a one-million-rand reward ($A87,000) for Joshlin's safe return. 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 per cent increase on the previous year, according to police statistics.
Telegraph
29-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Mother sold daughter to witch doctor for £850
A South African mother accused of selling her missing six-year-old daughter to a traditional healer for £850 has been jailed for life. Kelly Smith, her boyfriend and another accomplice were each given life sentences for the kidnapping and human trafficking of Joshlin Smith who went missing in February 2024. In a trial that shocked the country, a witness said Smith told her she had sold her daughter for just £850 to a traditional healer and that the girl was desired for her 'eyes and skin'. Joshlin remains missing nearly 16 months after her disappearance and the judge's verdict made no conclusions on who she had been sold to, or the details of what happened to her. Dr Marcel van der Watt, an expert on human trafficking based in the US, said during a sentence hearing that whatever had happened to Joshlin, it was highly likely she had been abused after she had been trafficked. The judge's verdict did not conclude exactly what happened to Joshlin, but said she had been sold for slavery or practices similar to slavery, raising fears she may have been sold for forced labour, domestic servitude, or sexual abuse. There are also fears she may have been murdered. Judge Nathan Erasmus, sentencing, said: 'There is nothing I can find that is redeeming and deserving of a lesser sentence than the harshest I can impose.' Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn, a friend of the couple, were each given life sentences for human trafficking and 10 years each for kidnapping. The community at first rallied around Smith, whose full name is Racquel Chantel Smith, when her daughter went missing outside Saldanha Bay, around 75 miles north of Cape Town. Photos showing Joshlin's green eyes, broad smile and brown pigtails flooded the internet. Smith said she had left Joshlin with Appollis on the day she disappeared but she herself was arrested. Her trial then heard a series of claims including from a local pastor who said that as far back as 2023, he had heard Smith talk of selling her children for 20,000 rand (£850) each. Lourentia Lombaard, a witness who was a friend and neighbour of Smith, alleged Smith had told her she had sold Joshlin to a traditional healer, known in South Africa as a sangoma. Ms Lombaard told the court – which was convened in a sports centre in Saldanha Bay – Smith had confessed: 'I did something silly ... I sold my child to a sangoma', adding that she had been driven by a desperate need for money. Joshlin's mother promised those who were aware of the plan some money in return for their silence, she said. Joshlin's teacher told the court that Smith had said during the search that her daughter was already 'on a ship, inside a container, and they were on the way to West Africa '. Smith and her accomplices refused to testify or call any witnesses for their defence during the trial. The public gallery erupted in applause and cheers as the sentences were read out. Police afterwards said they would continue searching for Joshlin. Lt Gen Thembisile Patekile, Western Cape provincial police commissioner, said: 'Our thoughts remain with the family of Joshlin Smith. May they find some comfort in knowing that justice has prevailed. 'South African police service remains fully committed to exploring every possible lead in the pursuit of real closure in this tragic matter.' Dr van der Watt said: 'This was not a spontaneous act but a calculated crime. 'The evidence paints a clear picture of deliberate exploitation and co-ordinated effort by the accused, and a breach of societal and legal obligations to safeguard the most vulnerable among us. 'The victim in this case, six-year-old Joshlin, very likely and plausibly suffered abuse.'
Russia Today
29-05-2025
- General
- Russia Today
South African woman gets life in prison for selling six-year-old daughter
While the three individuals convicted of kidnapping and trafficking six-year-old Joshlin Smith were sentenced to life imprisonment for the crimes on Thursday, the police said the search for the little girl would go on. There has been no trace of Joshlin since her disappearance from her Middelpos, Saldanha Bay home on 19 February 2024. Evidence in the trial was that she was sold for R20,000. Joshlin's mother, Racquel 'Kelly' Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen 'Boeta' Appollis, and family acquaintance Steveno 'Steffie' van Rhyn were found guilty in the Western Cape High Court earlier this month. On Thursday, they were sentenced to life imprisonment for human trafficking and 10 years for kidnapping. They have indicated that they will be appealing. The three did not testify in their defence. In a statement, Western Cape provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile, commended all the officers, detectives, and specialists involved in the case. 'Your dedication reflects the very best of our nation's law enforcement and brings hope to families still waiting for justice,' he said in Saldanha, where the case was heard. 'Our thoughts remain with the family of Joshlin Smith. May they find some comfort in knowing that justice has prevailed,' he said. The statement added that the search for Joshlin has not been called off. 'SAPS remains fully committed to exploring every possible lead in the pursuit of real closure in this tragic matter.' Joshlin's godmother, Natasha Andrews, said the silence from the trio during sentencing deepened the family's pain. 'She was our baby daughter. She lived with us, ate, and went on holidays with us, we did everything for her. 'They were given a chance to say something, anything that could have helped us find her, but they said nothing. Kelly didn't even shed a tear. If they wanted to help, they would have. That chance is gone, and now we just hope one day we will find her.' Andrews said she visited Kelly after sentencing. 'She was sobbing, but at the end of the day, we still don't have answers. I remain hopeful that Joshlin will be found. We are not going to give up. Kelly accepted me into her life and into Joshlin's life. I'll never stop visiting her until we have an answer.' Joshlin's paternal grandmother, Louretta Yon, said: 'What Kelly did was harsh. Maybe one day she will tell the truth about what happened to Joshlin. I don't want to say anything to Kelly now.' Kelly's mother, Amanda Smith-Daniels, said: 'She did the crime, and the law must take its course. It's not nice that my child has to spend her life in jail, but she did something wrong and must deal with the consequences.' First published by IOL
