South African mother on trial for kidnapping and selling her daughter, sparking national outrage.

A South African woman went on trial on Monday, charged with kidnapping and selling her young daughter in a case that has captured national attention.

Kelly Smith is facing charges alongside her partner and another man over the disappearance of her daughter, Joshlin, more than a year ago. Joshlin, who was six years old at the time she vanished, remains missing despite an extensive nationwide police search.

Smith, whose full name is Racquel Chantel Smith, has been charged with kidnapping and human trafficking. Prosecutors allege that she orchestrated the abduction of her daughter in exchange for payment, with the assistance of her partner, Jacquin Appollis, and a friend, Steveno van Rhyn.

As the trial began, all three defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. The trial is being held in a sports hall in the small coastal town of Saldanha Bay to allow members of the community to attend the proceedings.

Initially, Smith garnered widespread sympathy across South Africa following Joshlin’s disappearance. Many of her neighbors rallied around her, joining the police in searching for the missing child in sand dunes near their settlement.

Smith has claimed that on the day Joshlin disappeared in February 2024, she had left her daughter in the care of Appollis and had not seen her again since.

The case took an unexpected and shocking turn when police brought Smith in for questioning and later arrested her. Another woman was also arrested in connection with the case but was not charged. According to reports, she is expected to testify as a witness for the state.

In their indictment, prosecutors stated that Smith had been planning to sell Joshlin, along with her two other children, since August 2023. However, only Joshlin went missing.

Prosecutors further alleged that on the day Joshlin was reported missing, Smith and her daughter were seen getting into a white vehicle, carrying a bag of clothes.

The case has sparked outrage in the community, with crowds gathering outside the sports hall where the trial is being held, chanting, “We want Joshlin back,” according to local media reports.

Judge Nathan Erasmus stated that if found guilty, the three defendants could face life imprisonment.