Mother who sold 6-year-old daughter for her 'blue eyes' and 'fair complexion' to Zulu healer sentenced
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Mother who sold 6-year-old daughter for her 'blue eyes' and 'fair complexion' to Zulu healer sentenced")
The girl named Joshlin Smith vanished from outside her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town, in February 2024. The mother is said to have sold her daughter to a healer for her “blue eyes” and “fair complexion.”
A woman in South Africa has been handed a life sentence for trafficking and selling his six-year-old daughter to a "healer". The girl had light skin and turquoise blue eyes, and this led the man to reach out to the mother to buy the girl, a court in Cape Town heard.
Racquel 'Kelly' Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn have been convicted of kidnapping and trafficking. As Judge Nathan Erasmus told them about their punishment, they showed no remorse for their actions.
The girl named Joshlin Smith vanished from outside her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town, in February 2024. The police are yet to find any traces of the little girl, except for a few pieces of clothes. During a trial that lasted six weeks, it was revealed that a woman who claimed to be a "sangoma" - a traditional healer, approached Racquel for Joshlin's "blue eyes and fair complexion."
Who are sangomas?
People in South Africa believe that sangomas can talk to the spirits of their ancestors. They reportedly use their power to heal their followers. The law of the country recognises sangomas under the Traditional Health Practitioners Act of 2007.
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A major search operation has been underway in South Africa for Joshlin. Her grandmother, Amanda Smith-Daniels, begged Racquel before the sentencing to tell her where the child is.
During the entire trial, none of the three criminals testified, nor did they ask anyone else to be their witness. Meanwhile, at least 30 people recalled Joshlin's life and the events leading up to her disappearance. One of them also revealed that Racquel had admitted to her that she had sold the girl to a sangoma.
Mother confessed to neighbour that she had sold her daughter
Lourentia Lombaard, Smith's friend and neighbour, told the court that the mother confessed to her about doing "something silly", confiding to her that she had sold her daughter to a healer. This was before the girl disappeared.
A few days later, she saw the mother get into a car with Joshlin and another woman, whom she believed was the sangoma. One of Joshlin's teachers told the court that the mother once told her that her daughter was already "on a ship, inside a container, and they were on the way to West Africa".
A pastor revealed to the court that he overheard Racquel talking about selling her three children for 20,000 rand, or $1,114.
The police arrested a sangoma last year. However, she was released for lack of evidence. In March, police found bloody clothes near the area where Joshlin lived. Western Cape province police commissioner Thembisile Patekile told reporters that their goal is to find the "child alive."
