Life in prison the only fitting sentence for Joshlin’s kidnappers, court hears

From left: Jacquen Appollis, Steveno van Rhyn and Raquel ‘Kelly’ Smith are expected to be sentenced in the Western Cape Division of the High Court sitting in Saldanha on Thursday, 29 May 2025 for the trafficking and kidnapping of Smith‘s daughter Joshlin. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)

By Vincent Cruywagen

28 May 2025

State prosecutor Zelda Swanepoel says there is no compelling reason to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.

The only fitting sentence for convicted human traffickers Jacquen Appollis, Steveno van Rhyn and Racquel “Kelly” Smith is life in prison and that their names be entered into the Child Protection Register as people not fit to be with children.

State prosecutor Zelda Swanepoel made this appeal to Western Cape Division of the High Court Judge Nathan Erasmus, who will sentence the three accused on Thursday, 29 May 2025.

The trial began on 3 March 2025. The three accused were convicted on 2 May 2025 on counts of trafficking in persons and kidnapping stemming from the disappearance of then six-year-old Joshlin Smith on Monday, 19 February 2024.

Then six-year-old Joshlin Smith, who disappeared on 19 February 2024. (Photo: WhatsApp screenshot)

Some of the aggravating factors highlighted by the State include that since Joshlin’s disappearance, the three accused have remained silent about Joshlin’s whereabouts, and have shown no remorse or told the court that they were “sorry”.

Hence the submission by Swanepoel that no substantial and compelling evidence exists for the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.

Swanepoel said that Smith’s tears were too late after victim impact statements describing the pain of those affected by Joshlin’s disappearance triggered a flood of emotions in the courtroom on Wednesday, 28 May 2025.

Read more: Courtroom in tears as shattered community describes the effect of Joshlin Smith’s disappearance

Smith, her boyfriend Appollis (also known as Boeta) and Van Rhyn were found guilty of the charges stemming from Joshlin’s disappearance on 19 February 2024 from the Middelpos informal settlement in Saldanha Bay.

The three, who pleaded not guilty, had throughout the trial denied the allegations against them. The State had alleged that the accused “sold, delivered or exchanged” Joshlin, a Grade 1 pupil at Diazville Primary, for money.

life sentence joshlin From left: Jacquen Appollis, Steveno van Rhyn and Raquel ‘Kelly’ Smith are expected to be sentenced in the Western Cape Division of the High Court sitting in Saldanha on Thursday, 29 May 2025 for the trafficking and kidnapping of Smith‘s daughter Joshlin. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)

Appollis said under cross-examination that details in his warning statement, including the claim that he took the then-six-year-old girl to a sangoma’s house, were fabricated.

Appollis and Van Rhyn implicated themselves when they said Joshlin was taken to a supposed sangoma on the day she went missing. Judge Erasmus ruled that the accused’s confessions were admissible and could be used as evidence against them.

The trio chose to remain silent, and did not take the stand or call any witnesses in their defence, and were convicted of trafficking in persons and kidnapping.

Defence’s ‘lame’ arguments

Advocate Fanie Harmse, representing Appollis, argued that he agreed with the State that this was a unique case in the sense that the court did not know where Joshlin was or what had happened to her.

“The difficulty we sit with, I submit, is that we don’t have an explanation for what happened on 19 February 2024. We only have the statement of Appollis that he had a meeting with Smith.”

Judge Erasmus questioned if there was any evidence of remorse for Joshlin’s suffering, and that Kelly Smith’s description of her as “the child” was “heartless on the face of it – how do I deal with that”?

In reply, Harmse said “some people don’t have the language eloquence and may refer to ‘the child’ which some social groups may deem insensitive, although some individuals may refer to the ‘child’ not in a derogatory or unemotional way.”

Nohable Mkabayi, counsel for Van Rhyn, stated that her client had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and that Van Rhyn’s personal circumstances were in themselves mitigating circumstances.

Prosecutor Swanepoel said she was stunned to think that it could be argued that a mitigating factor was that the victim wasn’t there to physically testify about what happened to her.

“I wish to argue to the contrary completely – that is an aggravating factor, we don’t have her, we don’t know where she is, whether she is alive or not, we want to hope that she is still alive… those are all the questions in the air and all of that is aggravating.”

Swanepoel said that “Van Rhyn was the same person who was laughing the most throughout the proceedings, also on Tuesday, 27 May – all three accused were still laughing while the court was dealing with what sentence to impose. It is not a laughing matter.”

Swanepoel said that Smith, albeit a first offender, “was the mastermind who came up with the idea… Smith is the leading personality.”

She said there was no substantial or compelling evidence before the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence. Life imprisonment was the appropriate sentence for all three accused.

The State asked that, in terms of Section 120 of the Children’s Act, the court make an order that the names of all three accused be entered into the Child Protection Register as people unfit to be with children. DM

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Defence’s ‘lame’ arguments