NPA praises prosecutors & investigators following judgment in Joshlin Smith trial

SALDANHA BAY - The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has heaped praise on the prosecutors and investigators involved in the Joshlin Smith trial after the judgment was handed down in the matter on Friday.

Judge Nathan Erasmus found Joshlin Smith's mother, Kelly Smith, her boyfriend, Jacquen Appollis, and his friend, Steveno van Rhyn, guilty of kidnapping and human trafficking for the disappearance of the little girl.

Joshlin, who was six years old when she went missing from her Middelpos home in Saldanha in February last year, has still not been found.

Director of public prosecutions in the Western Cape, Nicolette Bell, described Judge Erasmus' ruling in the trial as "remarkable" before lauding the prosecution team involved in the case.

"We're extremely proud of the prosecution team and the investigation team for their hard work, but it would not have been without the community that we would have been here today and had such a good judgment."

Bell said that human trafficking was rife but legislation related to the crime was still new.

"So, we can still build from here, but tragically the little girl, Joshlin, is still missing, so the search for her must continue."

The accused are set to appear in the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town next week for sentencing procedures to commence.