South African mother given life sentence for trafficking 6-year-old daughter

Kelly Smith, the mother of Joshlin Smith, reacts during her sentencing at the Western Cape High Court in Saldanha Bay, South Africa, May 29, 2025. A South African judge sentenced Smith and her two accomplices after they were found guilty of kidnapping and trafficking Smith's six-year-old daughter, Joshlin Smith. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -A South African mother and two accomplices were sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday for trafficking her then-6-year-old daughter, in a case that gained nationwide attention since the child went missing last year.

Kelly Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno Van Rhyn were convicted of kidnapping and trafficking the girl, Joshlin Smith, after she disappeared from a small town in the Western Cape.