Joshlin Smith's traffickers denied leave to appeal their convictions, sentences
In May, Kelly Smith, her boyfriend, Jacquen Apollis and his friend, Steveno van Rhyn, were handed life sentences for human trafficking and ten years for kidnapping.
Joshlin Smith’s mother, Kelly Smith, Jacquen Appollis, and Stevano van Rhyn in the Western Cape High Court, sitting in the Saldanha Bay multi-purpose centre, on 11 March 2025. Picture: Carlo Petersen/EWN
CAPE TOWN - A mother and two others accused of selling her young daughter to a sangoma have been denied leave to appeal their convictions and sentences.
In May, Kelly Smith, her boyfriend, Jacquen Apollis and his friend, Steveno van Rhyn, were handed life sentences for human trafficking and ten years for kidnapping.
This is after the court accepted the state's version that they had sold then six-year-old Joshlin Smith for R20 thousand rand in Saldanha Bay in February last year.
On Wednesday, the same judge, Nathan Erasmus, dismissed the argument of an unfair trial.
The court has also dealt with the indemnity of Lourentia Lombard, who was initially accused but later turned State witness and testified against those convicted.
The prosecution had argued in her favour this week.
On Wednesday, she walked free with the court finding she played no active role in the disappearance of the girl who's still missing.