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Joshlin Smith case — State to call for life imprisonment

Joshlin Smith case — State to call for life imprisonment
Racquel ‘Kelly’ Smith, during the pre-trial hearing at the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town on 21 February 2025. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)
Vincent Cruywagen
By Vincent Cruywagen
26 May 2025
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Sentencing proceedings in the Joshlin Smith trial begin in Saldanha Bay on Tuesday. It’s unclear whether the defence will call witnesses or take the stand.

Sentencing proceedings in the Joshlin Smith case are set down for Tuesday and Wednesday this week before Judge Nathan Erasmus is due to hand down the sentences for Racquel Smith, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn on Thursday, 29 May. 

appollis van rhyn smith Jacqen Appollis, Steveno van Rhyn and Raquel ‘Kelly’ Smith during sentencing proceedings in the Joshlin Smith kidnapping case at the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town on 23 May 2025. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)



This will bring an end to the trial, which began on 3 March 2024 in the Western Cape High Court, sitting in the Multipurpose Centre in Saldanha Bay. It resulted in the conviction of Smith, Appollis, and Van Rhyn on counts of human trafficking and kidnapping stemming from Joshlin’s disappearance on 19 February 2024.

On Friday, 23 May, Smith, Appollis and Van Rhyn appeared briefly in court in Cape Town, where Erasmus rubber-stamped the transfer of the case to Saldanha Bay.

Read more: Guilty: Smith, Appollis and Van Rhyn convicted in Joshlin Smith case

State prosecutor Zelda Swanepoel told the court that the State had finalised the impact victims’ statements from members of the community. They were taken in Afrikaans and will be read into the record.

“Your honour, the State will also conduct a virtual testimony with Dr Marcel van der Walt, an expert on human trafficking,” Swanepoel said.

Van der Walt is a former member of the Hawks who has done extensive research on human trafficking, organised crime and corruption.

Counsel for the accused told the court they were awaiting instructions from their clients on whether they would call witnesses to testify in mitigation for sentencing. The accused neither testified nor called witnesses during the trial. 

Smith, Appollis and Van Rhyn arrived at court an hour late on Friday. Appollis told the judge that he had not yet been interviewed by a social worker. However, the court heard that Van Rhyn was interviewed by a psychologist and Smith was interviewed by a social worker.

These reports will be used by the accused’s counsel during mitigation for sentencing.

Read more: Joshlin Smith case — Why the court found the accused guilty

Smith, her boyfriend Appollis and their friend Van Rhyn were convicted on charges stemming from Joshlin’s disappearance from the Middelpos informal settlement in Saldanha Bay.

kelly smith Racquel ‘Kelly’ Smith, during a pre-trial hearing at the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town on 21 February 2025. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)



The court relied heavily on the testimony of State witness Laurentia Lombaard, who was a former accused in the case, who testified that Smith said she had sold Joshlin, then a six-year-old Grade 1 pupil at Diazville Primary, to a sangoma for R20,000.

Smith also told an acquaintance of her plans to sell her daughter. Lombaard testified that Appollis and Van Rhyn were party to the deal and the court heard from police that the trio did not appear overly concerned about Joshlin’s disappearance, despite the widespread search for the six-year-old. 

Seriousness of charges


The State is calling for life imprisonment in terms of Section 51 (1) of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 105 of 1977, on the main count of trafficking in persons.

The State will also contend that the kidnapping and trafficking of Joshlin were premeditated and that the plan had been conceptualised in August 2023. It will argue that the accused showed no remorse and did not take the court into their confidence.

Furthermore, the State will point out that Appollis and Van Rhyn lied in their statements, which Judge Erasmus ruled were admissible and could be used as evidence against them. This had tainted their character and trustworthiness.

Another aspect the State will highlight is the interest of the public, how this case reverberated throughout the country. It is the first conviction for the selling of a child where the body has not yet been found.

Mitigating factors


Arguments for the accused’s counsel during mitigation of sentencing will centre on presenting evidence that substantial and compelling circumstances exist to persuade the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.

But this will be a tough argument, given Appollis, Van Rhyn and Smith exercised their right to remain silent. There is little evidence from the trio to contradict the State’s overwhelming evidence against them.

The reports compiled by social workers in respect of Appollis, Van Rhyn and Smith will outline their personal circumstances, which include their status and character, including other factors in their favour that may mitigate the sentence against them. The three have admitted to being regular drug users.

Read more: State details how Joshlin Smith’s mother orchestrated human trafficking sale as family marks her seventh birthday

Fate of Lombaard


At the conclusion of the case, a separate trial will be held to determine whether Lombaard will receive indemnity from prosecution. After she was charged, she became a State witness and exposed the plot that led to the human trafficking of Joshlin.

During the trial, Lombaard’s statements and evidence in chief were riddled with inconsistencies. The defence argued that Lombaard was an unreliable witness.

However, the court found some of Lombaard’s evidence corroborated the evidence of evangelist Steven Coetzee, an acquaintance of Smith’s, who said she had told him of plans to sell her children.

Read more: Joshlin Smith’s mother ‘talked of plans for daughter to be taken months before disappearance’

On Friday, Judge Erasmus said: “At the end of this trial, there will be a separate trial in the Western Cape High Court to determine whether I should grant Lombaard indemnity or not.

“Based on her evidence, I need to hear arguments before I make a ruling. Arguments will be presented by her legal representation.” DM

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