The tragic case of missing child Joshlin Smith continues to grip South Africa, with new developments emerging in the aftermath of the sentencing of her mother, Racquel "Kelly" Smith, for kidnapping and trafficking. Kelly Smith, along with her partner Jacquen "Boeta" Appollis and friend Steveno van Rhyn, received life sentences last Thursday for their involvement in the disappearance of the young girl.
The trio were convicted of plotting to sell Joshlin, who has been missing since 19 February 2024, to a traditional healer. Appollis and Van Rhyn were found to have taken her from her home in Middelpos, Saldanha Bay.
In a dramatic turn of events, Kelly Smith is now reportedly blaming her mother, Amanda Smith-Daniels, for her life sentence. This accusation comes after Amanda Smith-Daniels delivered a powerful victim impact statement during the sentencing proceedings, in which she stated that Kelly had made her and her two other children’s lives a misery and branded her "heartless".
Amanda Smith-Daniels has since revealed that she has been admitted to a psychiatric facility for treatment for severe depression. The weight of her daughter’s betrayal and the ongoing anguish of not knowing what happened to her granddaughter has taken a devastating toll on her mental health.
In an emotional interview, Amanda Smith-Daniels said: "I must deal with psychologists and psychiatrists. I have to work on my mental health because it’s too much. My pillow is riddled with tears. Every night I lie awake praying for Joshlin."
Since the sentencing, Amanda Smith-Daniels claims that her daughter has severed all ties with her, even sending police officers to deliver the message that she wanted no further contact.
"I haven’t seen her since she was sentenced," she said. "She blames me, I think, for what I said in court. But I only told the truth."
With Kelly Smith incarcerated and Joshlin still missing, Amanda Smith-Daniels is now responsible for raising Kelly’s two other children, Rachelle and Racquen. She has yet to fully explain the situation to Rachelle, who is too young to understand the gravity of the circumstances.
"She [Rachelle] is too young to understand," Amanda Smith-Daniels explained. "I just told her we’re going to find her sister and that her mommy will come back. Only Racquen knows the truth. I’ve taken him to psychologists to help him cope."
Amanda Smith-Daniels is now living with constant fear and anxiety for the safety of her grandchildren. "It weighs heavily on me every morning when I wake them for school. I feel like I need to be at the school all day to make sure nothing happens to them," she said.
Despite the trauma and uncertainty surrounding Joshlin’s fate, Amanda Smith-Daniels remains hopeful that her granddaughter will be found, even though Kelly Smith has remained silent about her whereabouts. "Even though there’s no good news about Joshlin yet, I still believe the police haven’t given up. I believe in Captain Lombard," she said.
Smith, however, welcomed friends, community members and some of her other family members with open arms when they wanted to greet her.
Smith-Daniels said she was told that the reason her daughter refused to see her was because of the “powerful and truthful” victim impact statement she gave the State, which was read out in court on Wednesday.
Smith-Daniels told News24: "She absolutely hates me right now, and that’s okay. I am aware that she is not happy about what was read out from me in court, but I spoke my truth, and I am sticking to it."
Smith’s son, 10, now lives with Smith-Daniels in the Northern Cape. Her youngest daughter, 2, is staying with her dad, Jose Emke, also in the Northern Cape.
Smith-Daniels said her daughter’s actions were an “embarrassment” to the family.
Part of Smith-Daniels’ victim impact statement read: “How do you sleep? How do you live with yourself? No punishment that you will get will be enough until Joshlin is found.”
Smith-Daniels told News24 that she had “no hard feelings” about Smith not wanting to see her.
“She needs to live with the decisions she has made. It’s hard and difficult for me to see that my child, my flesh and blood, will be inside a prison for the rest of her life. No parent wants that for their child, no matter their relationship.
“But, at the end of the day, the court found her guilty, and she must be held accountable for her terrible actions. My grandchild is missing; did she honestly expect me to still tell the court to give her a lenient sentence?”
She said she doubts her daughter has a conscience.
“She has lied repeatedly to the courts and police. She has lied to my face time and time again, saying she will speak her truth in court; that has never happened. Kelly must face the music. The reality of what happened to Joshlin has played out for the whole world to see.
“Not only has she embarrassed my family, but she has hurt me immensely. And for that, I don’t think I will ever get over this,” said Smith-Daniels.
She said preparations were under way for her to legally adopt Smith’s two other children.
“That is the plan. My grandchildren need stability and to know that they are loved and that there is prosperity in life despite their mother’s horrific actions,” Smith-Daniels said.
“We have tried to shield them from a lot of the court proceedings. They don’t know yet that their mother is never coming back. I still have to go break that news to them when I get back home at the weekend,” she sighed tearfully.
Asked if she plans on ever taking the children to visit their mother in prison, Smith-Daniels responded: “Never”.
“They have been through enough heartache. I will never put them through that torment of visiting Kelly so that they can be more traumatised. That’s not going to happen,” she said.
Detailing her grandchildren’s “new life” in the Northern Cape, she said Smith’s son has his own room for the first time in his life.
He swims in the pool, watches TV, and recently got a cellphone on which he loves to play games.
“He’s not happy that I have so [many] strict rules in place for him. I overheard him telling a friend recently that he loves living with grandma, but that I have too many rules,” Smith-Daniels said with a laugh.
She said life looks a lot different for her family as they try to navigate the harsh reality that her two grandchildren may never see their mother again.
She thanked the Saldanha Bay community, the prosecutors, the police, and the Andrews family for their willingness to try and adopt Joshlin to give her a better life.
“As hard as all their roles were in getting justice for Joshlin, they can take a bow for their sterling work. It was not easy. It was not easy for me to hear the things my child did to Joshlin,” said Smith-Daniels.
She said she still believes that Joshlin is alive, longing to come back home, and that “she will be found”.
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