WC Community Safety MEC praises investigators, NPA for work on Joshlin Smith trial
Western Cape MEC for Community Safety, Anroux Marais, made special mention of a group of mothers who gathered outside court to pray every morning during the Joshlin Smith trial.
Kelly Smith appeared in the Western Cape high Court sitting at the White City Multipurpose Centre on 29 May 2025. She was handed a life sentence for the human trafficking charge and ten years for the kidnapping of her daughter, Joshlin. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/EWN
SALDANHA BAY - Western Cape MEC for Community Safety, Anroux Marais, has made special mention of a group of mothers who gathered outside court to pray every morning during the Joshlin Smith trial.
Joshlin's mother, Kelly Smith, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn were handed life sentences on Thursday, after being found guilty of kidnapping and human trafficking related to the child's disappearance.
Marais also heaped praise on the investigation team and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for their handling of the matter.
READ: Joshlin Smith trial: NPA says protecting children everyone's responsibility
Marais highlighted the role the Saldanha Bay community played during the trial.
The MEC attended Thursday’s proceedings at the White City Multipurpose Centre in Saldanha Bay.
"The teams told me that they know they were praying for them, and that's why they could carry on through all of these processes that happened."
Marais said the judgment also conveyed a message that the vulnerable in our society should not be harmed in any way.
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