Is Now 7-Year-Old Joslin Smith Still Alive, 1 Year After Going Missing?

• Saldanha Bay child, Joslin Smith, has still not been found, a year since she went missing on 19 February 2024
• Joslin reportedly disappeared from the Middelpos informal settlement in Diazville in the Western Cape
• While there is no trace of her, the question of whether the now-seven-year-old girl is still alive continues to linger
• Five people were initially charged in her disappearance, while the state has since withdrawn the case against two

Tshepiso Mametela is a seasoned journalist at Briefly News. A Head of Current Affairs, Mametela reported live from the presidential inauguration of Cyril Ramaphosa and has written articles on politics, crime, courts, accidents and other topics, including sports, at The Herald and Opera News SA, among others.

WESTERN CAPE — The whereabouts of the missing Saldanha Bay child, Joslin Smith, are still unknown, a year after she disappeared from her Diazville home.

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Three people arrested, among them Joslin's mother, Kelly, and her boyfriend, Jacquin Appollis, face charges, including human trafficking.

The bizarre case of Joslin Smith

They are believed to have sold the child to fuel their drug habit, with the matter first being heard in the Vredenburg Magistrate's Court.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) withdrew charges against two others — Phumza Sigaqa and Lourentia Lombaard — due to a lack of evidence.

Lombaard has reportedly since turned State witness.

Meanwhile, the accused trio will appear in the Western Cape High Court on Friday, 28 February 2025. However, Kelly sat alone in the dock during a pretrial hearing in her last appearance on Friday, 31 January.

Appolis, and the couple’s friend Steveno van Rhyn, who is also charged in the case, were absent due to an administrative error resulting from a failed transfer from Malmesbury to Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town.

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Kelly is being held in the women's section at Pollsmoor.

A year on, young Joslin would be seven this year, were she to be alive.

She was reported missing on Monday, 19 February 2024, from her home at the Middelpos informal settlement.

Appolis, who usually looked after her during the day while Kelly was at work, said she asked to play with her friends and did not return home when it was late. She was among three children staying with Kelly and Appolis in a shack.

After returning from work in the evening and reportedly searching for Joslin but failing to find her, Kelly filed a missing person report. Gayton McKenzie's Patriotic Alliance (PA) privately funded a large-scale effort to find Joslin.

Law enforcement launched a concurrent search operation involving the South African Navy and South African Police Service (SAPS) K9 Unit. Interpol also undertook an investigation and search. During her recent court appearance, Kelly told reporters she believed Joslin was alive and well.

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Joslin Smith: Witness testifies seeing Kelly drag Joslin into shack before her disappearance

According to Judge Gayaat Da Silva Salie, Joslin's missing person case remains active, and the court assumes she is still alive.

Woman who sold child renews bail bid

In a related story, Briefly News reported that Keneilwe Shalaba, accused of selling her two-year-old child, Kutlwano, appeared in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate's Court for a formal bail application on Wednesday, 12 February.

Shalaba, 32, faces human trafficking and conspiracy to commit robbery after allegedly selling Kutlwano to unidentified people on 10 November 2024.

Source: Briefly News