Community hurls insults at Joshlin Smith’s mother in court visit to family shack

During the Joshlin Smith kidnapping and human trafficking case on Thursday, 6 March 2025, the court conducted an in loco inspection of the area where the missing girl lived.

It was an emotional excursion, with some community members cursing at Joshlin’s mother, Racquel Smith, known as Kelly, while others asked where Joshlin was. Some shouted Smith’s name, in apparent support of the kidnapping and human trafficking accused.

Judge Nathan Erasmus, the prosecution and the defence counsel arrived on Thursday in the Middelpos informal settlement in Saldanha, where Joshlin disappeared on 19 February 2024. There was a heavy police presence.

They were accompanied by Smith and her co-accused, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn. The situation became heated when residents used foul language to vent their rage. They were halted in their tracks by the large police presence which prevented any disruptions.

Police roped off the area while armed officers equipped with stun grenades kept residents who were assembling nearby from crowding the scene.

The trial, which began on Monday, has been sitting at the Saldanha Multipurpose Centre before Judge Erasmus.

Smith and her co-accused face charges of kidnapping and human trafficking stemming from the disappearance of Joshlin, a Grade 1 learner at Diazville Primary, who was six years old when she went missing.

The trio had been warned by the presiding judge that they face life imprisonment if they are convicted of trafficking in persons for the purpose of exploitation.

Erasmus indicated that the objective of Thursday’s inspection was to point out specific locations that had been raised in court, as well as to measure the distances between various points.

Smith has given different versions of events on the day Joshlin disappeared, but she has maintained that she discovered her daughter was missing when she arrived home from work.

In their plea explanations, the three accused all indicated that on the day Joshlin went missing they took drugs, including tik, on multiple occasions and did not look for her until hours later.

Read more: Accused admit to day of drug use while denying involvement in Joshlin Smith’s disappearance

Community tension

When the group of residents neared the area under inspection by court officials, an enraged woman yelled at Smith, “I’m also a mother, and I won’t do that to my child; you are a ‘vuilgat’ (dirtbag).”

Police continued to warn the crowd to keep their distance. 

Smith, Appollis and Van Rhyn’s legs were shackled. However, the shackles caused abrasions on Smith’s legs and were removed by police.

The inspection concentrated on the shack where Joshlin lived with her mother and siblings. The structure is crumbling and new shacks have been built nearby since Joshlin’s disappearance.

The judge repeatedly instructed forensic officers armed with a wheel reader to measure the distances between Smith’s shack and other locations specified in the accused’s papers.

The group spent a significant time in Smith’s shack. She confirmed that it was indeed where she, her boyfriend and children lived. The court heard that the small shack was divided into a lounge and bedroom. There was only one bed for Smith, Appollis, Joshlin and her two siblings to share.

Appollis and Van Rhyn pointed out various locations mentioned in their plea statements where they spent the day on which Joshlin went missing.

When the court visited Smith’s workplace – she was employed as a domestic worker – she appeared to fight tears from welling up in her eyes before breaking down on her way to the police van.

380 SAPS members were part of the search

Before the inspection, Saldanha Bay Police Station commander Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln Sibola testified from the witness box.

He said 150 detectives from several police stations in the Western Cape and in total, 380 SAPS members, formed the team that looked for Joshlin, who has still not been found. The search also included Public Order Police, Port of Entry police, as well as a helicopter and drones.

Over 100 community members and six community leaders also took part over several days, he said.

Sibola said that shortly after Joshlin went missing, “[Smith]  told me that her child Joshlin made her famous. In her own words, ‘My child, Joshlin, has made me famous.’ ”

Sergeant Meyer Milstein from Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) in Vredenburg also testified and expressed his concerns about Smith’s calm demeanour when they met on 20 February 2024, the day after Joshlin disappeared.

After a discussion with Joshlin’s mother, he took her to the shack where they lived. A rescue dog and a bodily fluid dog (biology dog) joined them.

“The biology dog sniffed out a pillowcase and bed sheet which had stains which resembled blood. I also picked a child’s flip flop which was in line with the description I got from Kelly,” he told the court.

When asked by the court what common behaviour parents displayed when their children had gone missing, his response was, “trauma, crying, and despair”.

“Kelly was relatively calm and she did not cry,” he told the court.

The matter continues on Friday, 7 March 2025. DM