Cape Town - A house that that once reverberated with the laughter of a child, amidst the grinding poverty that surrounds it, has gone quiet. The sprightly light skinned girl with striking green eyes has vanished, leaving a community traumatised and bewildered.
As the search for 6-year old Joshlin Smith continues, her home in Middelpos, Saldanha, has since been abandoned after the arrest of her mother, Racquel Kelly Smith.
The house is now chained up and weed is growing around it which is surrounded by murky green water with a lingering stench.
When neighbours see cameras, they have learnt that another visitor is going to the home and greet them with warm smiles.
Though impoverished, Smith reportedly made sure Joshlin was always well kempt with styled hair and beautiful dresses. When her daughter disappeared and before her arrest, Racquel described her daughter as an aspiring model.
“She loved dressing up, she didn’t like her blonde hair but I always told her she was beautiful and so was her hair.”
The six-year-old disappeared on February 19 while in the care of Smith’s boyfriend, Jacquin Appollis.
The following day a picture of the girl with striking features, big blue eyes, blonde hair tied-in pigtails, and black and white dress and a white vest underneath with a bright smile, started circulating on social media.
Middelpos and surrounding Diazville, Saldanha, residents stood together as soon as they heard about Joshlin’s disappearance and started searching for her.
The disappearance of the girl remains a mystery and has left the community traumatised.
Speculations about an involvement of a sangoma swelled and sources revealed Joshlin was sold for R20 000. Some people said the child was shipped to Europe.
The City of Cape Town was asked by mayor Andre Truter to join the search for the girl. Drones were brought in, boats and helicopters, but Joshlin was not found.
In the beginning of the search, Smith insisted her child was still in the area, and when the Weekend Argus visited Middelpos, the mom banged on people’s doors shouting that she wanted her daughter.
“I know my child is still around here, I want to find her, I will knock on every door and go into every shack until I find her. I keep thinking if she is warm and if she is eating where she is.”
“I know my child is still around here, I want to find her, I will knock on every door and go into every shack until I find her. I keep thinking if she is warm and if she is eating where she is.”
Two weeks later the police arrested Smith, Appollis, their friend Steveno van Rhyn and Phumza Sigaqa, who was accused of being a sangoma.
But Sigaqa was released after the court found no evidence that suggested that she was linked to the human trafficking and kidnapping charges.
Lourentia Lombaard, also a friend, was the next to be taken in for questioning and she was later charged.
On the day she made her first appearance in Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court she told people in the public gallery: “I told them the truth, I told them everything.”
Prosecutor Jacques van Zyl told the court that she had confessed, but didn’t give details. Sixty-one days later and two confessions, Joshlin is still missing.
Joshlin’s paternal grandmother Lauretta Yon said: “When I found out that my granddaughter was missing, I wanted to kill Kelly and her boyfriend. And then I heard that she sold her, I asked myself why she had to sell her two months after my son left Saldanha
Bay. If she didn’t want Joshlin, she could have just given her to me. I don’t know what I would say if I found her, I’m so angry.
“I would like to tell the person who has Joshlin, they are not human, he’s a demon, a devil himself. No one buys a human.”
Earlier this week, the community went searching for the Grade 1 learner at Diazville Primary School after two possible leads but they came back with nothing.
On Monday a woman who claimed to have been in custody with Smith said she had told her where her child was.
Saldanha Bay councillor Vernon Vraagom said: “The woman said Kelly told us that the child was at a sangoma’s house, and described the house. We tried to speak to the owner but there was an altercation and we decided to leave and went back with the police. “After a search we found nothing.”
On Wednesday someone came forward saying that he saw Appollis and Van Rhyn dump a bag in a manhole.
“We called the municipality and they assisted with a machine, they dug but could not find anything, they said they needed the blueprint of the area so they could take a look into the stormwater pipes on the local field.
“We remain hopeful that Joshlin will be found, alive. The community will continue looking for her.”
Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie said the investigating team are still pursuing all leads to trace the missing Joshlin Smith.
“The actions taken in Saldanha on Wednesday, were based on information received from a member of the public. Unfortunately no positive result was achieved. The investigation continues.”