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The Kelly Smith story – from promising student to charged with selling her daughter

The Kelly Smith story – from promising student to charged with selling her daughter
Kelly Smith smiles during her appearance at Vredenburg Magistrates' Court on 13 May 2024. (Photo: Gallo Images / Die Burger / Theo Jephta)
Vincent Cruywagen
By Vincent Cruywagen
1 Apr 2025
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Racquel ‘Kelly’ Smith was born in 1990 and adopted by her grandparents. Family members have described her as a promising student. With her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn, she’s now on trial for allegedly selling her daughter, Joshlin Smith.

Few members of Racquel “Kelly” Smith’s family want to speak to the media while she faces kidnapping and human trafficking charges related to the February 2024 disappearance of her then-six-year-old daughter, Joshlin Smith. 

One reason is that they want to protect Smith’s ailing grandmother, who adopted her when she was just days old and raised her as her own child.

Family members who are willing to speak, however, along with testimony in the Western Cape High Court, paint a picture of Smith’s promising upbringing, how it was derailed when she started using drugs, and how she raised her three children amid tumultuous and sometimes violent relationships.

shack Judge Nathan Erasmus with the prosecution, the defence and the accused, Jacquen Appollis, Steveno van Rhyn and Kelly Smith, at the shack from where Joshlin Smith went missing on 19 February 2024. (Photo: Vincent Cruywagen)



One of Smith’s aunts, who wanted to be referred to only by her first name, Magda, told Daily Maverick that she and Smith’s mother, Amanda Smith, lived near each other in Aggeneys, Northern Cape. Kelly and her child were born five months apart.

“Kelly was born at Aggeneys Hospital on May 1, 1990. This was Amanda’s first kid. Her parents were called to the hospital and arrangements were made for Kelly’s adoption.

“Adopting a child was easy back then. Kelly’s parents travelled to Pofadder to speak with the social worker. The social worker accompanied them to the hospital, where the adoption paperwork was finalised. 

“Kelly was only two days old when her mother was released… She was registered as Kelly Smith,” the aunt explained.

Smith’s brother has said their mother could not afford to raise her.

Smith and her co-accused, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis, and their friend Steveno van Rhyn face charges of human trafficking for exploitation and kidnapping following Joshlin’s 19 February 2024 disappearance from the Middelpos informal settlement in Saldanha Bay.

smith high court Kelly Smith in the dock at the Western Cape High Court sitting in Saldanha. (Photo: Gallo Images / Die Burger / Jaco Marais)



The State contends that they conspired and acted in common purpose in that they “sold, delivered or exchanged” Joshlin. The court has also heard testimony from the accused-turned-State-witness Luarentia Lombaard that Smith allegedly sold Joshlin for R20,000 to a sangoma.

Read more: Shocking testimony unveils Kelly Smith’s alleged plot to sell six-year-old daughter Joshlin to a sangoma

Smith has denied the claims and instead blamed Lombaard and her boyfriend, Ayanda Letoni, claiming they were the masterminds behind the disappearance of Joshlin. The three accused have pleaded not guilty.

kelly smith Kelly Smith before her arrest in March 2024. (Photo: Supplied / SAPS)



Smith has provided a statement explaining her plea. Her lawyer has cross-examined the State witnesses who have testified in the case so far, but she is yet to put her version forward or explain her story in her own words.

Promising student


Magda said Smith was 10 years old and in Grade 4 when she and her grandparents relocated to Saldanha in 2000.

She continued her education at Saldanha Primary School and then, as the family moved on multiple occasions, went to Vredenburg High School, Weston Secondary School and Diazville High School in Saldanha, where she completed her matric.

Smith, according to her aunt, was an excellent student and received top marks in her studies, including A’s in physical science and mathematics. She said Kelly was given an opportunity to work on a trawler at sea. 

kelly smith Kelly Smith in court in Vredenburg. (Photo: Pet Smit)



“Kelly’s alleged drug usage began a year after she completed matric. She was one of the first to be allowed to go to sea; her appointment letter was granted, but when she went for her medical, drugs were detected] and her application was rejected,” said her aunt.

 

shack kelly The shack where Kelly Smith and her children lived. (Photo: Supplied / SAPS)



Smith’s drug use has been documented in the Joshlin Smith trial. She has admitted to taking drugs on the day of Joshlin’s disappearance, 19 February 2024, and a social worker has testified that she had previously sought rehab, but was using drugs while pregnant with Joshlin.

Read more: Family history of abuse, addiction and neglect laid bare in Joshlin Smith trial

After her job on the trawler fell through, Smith applied for work at Transnet and, according to Magda, she aced the interview and an associated test for an administrative position that would have also helped her further her studies. 

“Transnet came looking for Kelly day and night because she was too good in her interview and she must get that job. Even the supervisor and the manager she was supposed to work under came to her grandparents’ house.

“She began to fall deeper and deeper into drugs and never started at Transnet.”

Magda said the family tried to help Smith deal with her drug habit while she was staying with family members, but this was in vain.

Joshlin’s birth on the street


Joshlin’s biological father is Jose Emke, and his mother, Rita Yon, is Joshlin’s grandmother. Emke and Smith moved in with Yon while Smith’s first child was still young. Smith has three children: Joshlin, a 10-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter.

jose emke rita yon Jose Emke, father of Joshlin Smith and her grandmother Rita Yon. (Photo: Vincent Cruywagen)



Yon told Daily Maverick, “My son and Kelly were smoking tik and mandrax. Kelly worked at several places in Saldanha Bay, and there were many mornings when I went somewhere, and Kelly returned from home.

“My husband Rubin used to leave for work at 5 am, and he would see Kelly returning home at that time. I only found out later… she was allegedly involved in the sex workers’ trade,” Yon claimed.

During the case in the Western Cape High Court last week, Judge Nathan Erasmus asked investigating officer Captain Wesley Lombard whether Smith, a domestic worker, had any other sources of income. Lombard said he interviewed Saldanha Bay sex workers who claimed Smith was involved in sex work.

The court has also heard that Emke was abusive towards Smith.

Social worker Siliziwe Mbambo, from the Department of Social Development, testified that Kelly was in an abusive relationship with Emke, which resulted in Smith often dropping Joshlin at her friend Natasha Andrews’ house. She testified that it was “not safe” at Smith’s house.

According to Yon, in 2021, she sent her son to their family in North West to get him away from tik and mandrax. Her son had been there for two months before Smith joined him.

“On 1 May 2021, when Jose got his pay, they came back [and] moved from place to place until they separated,” Yon said.

She said that her son had been violent towards Smith while she was pregnant after another man allegedly claimed to be Joshlin’s father. Yon had a falling out with Smith and told her to leave their house.

“I told her to leave before she gave birth to Joshlin because she and Jose argued, and my husband didn’t appreciate people smoking tik in his yard.”

Smith then stayed in numerous locations before Yon secretly provided her with a spot to sleep without her husband’s knowledge. She was still pregnant with Joshlin.

“Kelly did not give birth at my place. Around 3am in 2018, neighbours arrived at my house and informed me that Kelly had given birth in the street in front of me. I helped her and arranged for an ambulance to take her to the hospital,” she said.

Smith has a scar on her stomach, and Yon claimed that she cut herself with a piece of broken mirror when Joshlin was a few years old. She also claimed that Smith had suicidal tendencies.

“I feel sorry for Kelly. Whenever we talked, I could tell what she was saying [was that] she longed for her mother’s love.

“Joshlin was about two months old when Kelly’s mother came to bring clothes for Joshlin, and Kelly introduced her mother to me. I have forgiven Kelly, but will not forget what she allegedly did,” Yon said.

Read more: Saldanha Bay fishing communities now live in fear as gangsterism runs rife

Smith’s siblings


mickeyla daniels Smith’s sister, police Constable Mickeyla Daniels, testifies in the Western Cape High Court sitting in Saldanha. (Photo: Gallo Images/Die Burger/Jaco Marais)



Smith’s sister, Mickelya Daniels, a police officer, testified in court about how she questioned her sister after Joshlin went missing.

Daniels also told the court that Smith grew up in Saldanha Bay with their grandmother while she stayed in Aggeneys. According to Mickelya, they did not communicate much after Smith moved, but when she visited Saldanha, they bonded like sisters. 

“I wasn’t in contact with Kelly a lot because she constantly changed her phone numbers,” she told the court.

“When my parents were in Saldanha, they would go and visit Kelly’s children, or she brought them.”

Read more: Joshlin ‘is here in the informal settlement’, Kelly Smith allegedly told her SAPS sister

Smith appears to have gained weight since her March 2024 arrest. Following Daniels’ testimony, her brother Zhandrew Daniels posted an open letter on social media, stating that the attention on his sister’s appearance was misplaced.

What truly mattered was the case of young, innocent Joshlin and the circumstances of her disappearance, he said.

His post read: “I am genuinely saddened by what happened to Joshlin. It still hurts me to this day. What Kelly did to her is horrific; she does not deserve to be called a mother.

“However, I ask that you do not judge me or my family for Kelly’s actions. My parents did not raise her, she was brought up by my grandparents. Kelly is the first child my mother had before meeting my father. At that time, my mother was financially unstable and unable to support her, so my grandparents stepped in.”

He also echoed that Kelly had been a bright student who graduated with excellent marks and had the potential to pursue higher education or secure a good job, but she chose a path involving drugs, which ultimately led her to her current state, a decision she made on her own.

He further claimed, “After my mother met my father, they worked hard to improve their financial situation and offered Kelly help on multiple occasions to get her life back on track, but she refused their help.

smith court Kelly Smith during her appearance at Vredenburg Magistrates’ Court on 13 May 2024. (Photo: Gallo Images / Die Burger / Theo Jephta)



“Kelly even told my mother that she would have children to spite her. She returned to Saldanha, where she had her minor boy, but continued to struggle with her drug habits. My family supported her financially and whenever we visited, she would buy him gifts and clothes.”

He also said that because of Smith’s drug habit, his parents wanted to raise her children, but Kelly allegedly refused. Smith’s friend, Natasha Andrews, also suggested she adopt Joshlin, but Kelly and Emke allegedly refused.

According to Zhandrew, the reason the family chose not to speak out was for their own protection and to keep Smith’s 10-year-old son’s whereabouts private.

‘A good mother’


Tears welled up in Smith’s eyes during the trial when Kelly Zeegers, who employed her for domestic work, described her as a good mother who raised her children well. Smith’s friend Andrews also described her as a good mother.

The court has heard, however, that Smith was allegedly dismissive of efforts to find Joshlin after her disappearance.

Investigating police officer Lombard spoke to Smith a week after Joshlin’s disappearance – she allegedly told him that Joshlin was no longer in Saldanha and that she had to move on with her life as she had two other children.

“Your honour, this really blew me away; I never expected something like this to happen to me. I instantly inquired, ‘How does she know Joshlin is no longer in Saldanha Bay?’

“Her response was that, my child had left,” said Lombard. 

He went on to say that he reminded Smith of how she, as a mother, could not forget her child in a matter of days.

“I also reminded her that there are so many parents outside who struggle to go on with their lives because their children are still missing, and here is Kelly who, in less than a week, forgot about [her] child and decided to carry on with her life,” he testified.

“I could see she was angry. Your honour, I also mentioned to her that there were people outside devoting their lives to find her child, while she show[ed] no interest,” Lombard said of the mass search for Joshlin following her disappearance. 

The defence’s cross-examination of Lombard continued on Tuesday, 1 April. The trial continues. DM

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