Joshlin Smith: Sentences fit the crime, says Save the Children South Africa
Child rights groups and community activists have been reacting to the sentences handed down in the Joshlin Smith case on Thursday.
From left, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn and Joslin Smith’s mother, Kelly, before the Western Cape High Court sitting in Saldanha Bay on 27 May 2025. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/Eyewitness News
CAPE TOWN - Child rights groups and community activists have been reacting to the sentences handed down in the Joshlin Smith case on Thursday.
The missing girl's mother, Kelly Smith, and her accomplices, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn, were handed life sentences on Thursday for the child's disappearance.
Megan Briede from Save the Children South Africa believes that the sentences fit the crime.
"A life sentence is exactly what we wanted to see. We are, though, concerned that the family will still have an unresolved case for them in that they do not know the actual fate of Joshlin and we’re really hoping that as time passes, the accused will divulge what exactly happened to that little girl."