Kelly Smith allegedly sold Joshlin to sangoma for R20,000, court hears
Smith, Jacquen Appollis, and Stevano van Rhyn are on trial for the little girl's disappearance.
Joshlin Smith’s mother, Kelly Smith, Jacquen Appollis, and Stevano van Rhyn in the Western Cape High Court, sitting in the Saldanha Bay multi-purpose centre, on 11 March 2025. Picture: Carlo Petersen/EWN
SALDANHA BAY - A former accused in the Joshlin Smith trial who turned State witness said Kelly Smith confessed to her that she had sold Joshlin to a sangoma for R20,000.
Smith, Jacquen Appollis, and Stevano van Rhyn are on trial for the little girl's disappearance.
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The accused face charges of kidnapping and human trafficking in the Western Cape High Court, sitting in the Saldanha Bay multi-purpose centre.
State witness Lourentia Lombaard said she saw Smith take Joshlin to meet an unknown woman the day before the little girl disappeared.
Earlier that day, Lombaard said she overheard Smith tell Appollis that someone wanted to buy Joshlin.
The former accused said she saw Smith receive a small parcel from a short woman, who was dressed like a sangoma.
Lombaard said Smith later confessed she had sold Joshlin to a sangoma.
She said Smith offered her R1,000 to keep quiet, an offer she said she accepted but never received the money.
The trial continues.