It’s been over a year since Joslin’s disappearance and to date, still no trace on her whereabouts. Photo credit: Daily Maverick
(The Post News)- Six-year-old Joslin Smith from Saldhana Bay disappeared on the 19th of February 2024. Joslin, a Grade 1 pupil at Diazville Primary, disappeared from her home in Middelpos. Her disappearance has since gripped the country. The question on everyone’s lips: what happened to Joslin?
February 2024
On the 19th of February 2024, Joslin Smith went missing in her mother’s house in Diazville, Saldanha Bay, in the Western Cape. According to Joslin’s mother, Kelly Smith, Joslin stayed home with Appolis, her mother’s boyfriend, because she was allegedly sick. Upon Kelly’s return, she realized that Joslin was missing.
Kelly begged the public for any information that could help find Joslin. The mayor of Saldhana Bay had offered a reward of R20,000 for any information that could lead to her location. Appolis confirmed that he was indeed at home when she disappeared but swore he had nothing to do with Joslin’s disappearance.
March 2024
Since then, in an interview on the 1st of March 2024, Jose Emke, Joslin’s father, revealed that he suspected that Joslin’s disappearance was linked to Kelly’s alleged drug use. Jose had believed that Kelly was in debt and could have used Joslin to pay off her debt. Jose then called on the arrest of Kelly and Appolis. The South African Police Service found a bloodstained cloth linked to Joslin’s disappearance about two days prior to the interview.
Kelly, Appolis, Steveno Van Rhyn, and Phumeza Sigaqa were arrested and were named suspects in the disappearance of Joslin four days later. All four suspects appeared before the Vredenburg Magistrates Court and had their case postponed. Sigaqa was then released, and the case was dropped due to lack of evidence linked to her and Joslin’s disappearance. Soon after, Laurentia Lombaard was then arrested in connection with Joslin’s disappearance. Lombaard was charged with kidnapping and trafficking in persons.
April and May 2024
In April, police revealed that the bloodstained cloth found in March did not belong to Joslin. The K-9 unit continued searching for Joslin but was unsuccessful. Despite Kelly and Appolis being behind bars, the police then admitted they had reached a dead end in May. Lombaard then turned to a state witness after the state withdrew its case against her.
October 2024
In October, during a court appearance, the state revealed how Joslin disappeared and how the suspects were involved. According to the revelations, Kelly anticipated selling all her children in August 2023 only to do so in February 2024. The day before Joslin’s disappearance, Joslin and Kelly went to a white car parked near their home. It is said that Kelly spoke to a woman who emerged from the car and received something from the lady. Then, Kelly and the suspects talked about the profits being divided after Joslin was sold.
On the day of Joslin’s disappearance, Kelly told her daughter to stay home from school. During that day, Kelly returned and fetched Joslin with a packed bag and left the house. Both mother and daughter entered the car, and after looking for her, Kelly came back and reported Joslin missing.
January 2025
Fast-forwarding to 31 January 2025, there was supposed to be a pretrial hearing of Joslin’s disappearance. The hearing was postponed to the 28th of February. This was because of the logistical issues caused by the absence of two accused in court. Judge Gayaat-Salie da Silva pointed out that the court had considered holding the trial in Saldhana Bay, as it is a central location and would allow interested members of the public to attend. Joslin’s grandmother had welcomed the plan to move the trial to Saldhana in hopes of hearing more information about her granddaughter’s whereabouts.
February 2025
It has since been a year since Joslin went missing. Although multiple searches and arrests have been made, not a single trace has been found. According to police officials, the investigation and search operations are still underway.
March 2025
On the 5th of March 2025, Kelly Smith appeared in the Saldhana Bay Circuit High Court over her daughter’s disappearance. Rinesh Sivnarain, Kelly’s representative, said his client would not plead guilty to the charges against her. Sivnarain read out his client’s statement claiming that Kelly has no knowledge of the offenses she is accused of committing. In her statement read by Sivnarain, Joslin was not attending school that day because her uniform was dirty. The statement elaborates that Kelly dropped her youngest at créche and went to work; at the time, Kelly worked as a domestic worker. But on that day, at midday, she borrowed R50, which she used to buy drugs, and went home and smoked drugs with Appolis. Kelly’s statement explains that she noticed both her children were still at home at the time, so she proceeded back to work.
During the pretrial, Joslin’s grandmother, Lauretta Yon Yon, said she hopes Kelly can speak up and inform the state on Joslin’s whereabouts.
On Tuesday, Joslin’s teacher, Edna Maart, took the stand and told the High Court that Kelly received a call from a Nigerian man about Joslin’s disappearance a day after she disappeared. Maart said that Kelly didn’t disclose the information to the police because she was afraid of the angry Saldhana Bay community member who accused her of Joslin’s disappearance. Earlier, the court found out that Kelly struggled with drug addiction and sought help voluntarily in 2018 but refused to sign up for the relapse assist program.
As more witnesses take the stand, several have described her as a drug addict with a volatile relationship with her boyfriend. Refilwe Sekhobe, the investigating officer, testified that police were told that Joslin was sold to a traditional healer.
Up until now, Kelly, Appolis, and van Rhyn have still pleaded guilty to these allegations.
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