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Kelly Smith appears at the Western Cape High Court sitting in Saldanha Bay on April 23, 2025.
Calls are intensifying for Kelly Smith to disclose the whereabouts of her missing six-year-old daughter, Joshlin, as she and two others await sentencing. Smith, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn have been convicted of human trafficking.
The sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday next week in the High Court in the Western Cape, sitting in Saldanha Bay.
The case has drawn widespread outrage, with many still demanding answers about Joshlin’s fate, which remains unknown.
Non-governmental organisation Save The Children has joined the public outcry, calling for the maximum penalty.
The group’s programme director, Megan Briede, believes the circumstances of the case warrant life sentences.
“Our expectations are that we would love to see a life sentence. There are definitely aggravating factors that support that. First of all, you know the age of Joshlin. We need to look at the motivation and the intent that her mother had and very clearly the fact that we still don’t know Joshlin’s fate and that they’ve withheld this information,” says Briede.
VIDEO : Joshlin Smith | Sentencing set for Tuesday: Megan Briede weighs in
She stressed that Kelly Smith has had many opportunities to tell the truth.
“Where is Joshlin? And she has chosen not to.”
The case continues to spark national debate about child protection laws and the appropriate punishment for those found guilty of trafficking children.
