Kelly Smith claimed Joshlin was trafficked to West Africa

The six-year-olds mother, Kelly Smith, her boyfriend, Jacquin Appollis, and Steveno van Ryhn were arrested following Joshlin’s disappearance in February last year.

The trio face charges of kidnapping and human trafficking stemming from the grade 1 pupil’s disappearance in February 2024.

Taking the stand on Tuesday, Smith’s teacher, Edna Maart, told the High Court sitting at the Saldanha Bay Multipurpose Centre that the child’s mother said she received a call from a Nigerian man about the child’s whereabouts a day after she disappeared.

Maart described missing Joshlin as a quiet pupil who was very tidy.

She said after the principal of the school instructed them to join the search party, a day after the girl we not missing, Kelly Smith hopped into her vehicle and told her about the call.

“She told me, ‘Teacher I have something confidential I want to tell you’, and I told her that I am listening. The next thing she mentioned was that she received a call from a Nigerian male and that this person mentioned to her that she must ‘play quickly’.

“I asked her how she knew that this was a Nigerian male, and she didn’t answer my question. The conversation carried on, where she also mentioned that the information she received from this Nigerian man was that her child was on a boat in a container, and they were on their way to West Africa.”

Maart said Kelly said she did not disclose the information to the police because she was afraid of the angry Saldanha Bay community members who blamed her for the child’s disappearance.

Earlier, the court heard that Smith struggled with drug addiction and had voluntarily sought help in 2018. However, she declined to sign up for the relapse assist programme.

READ MORE: Joslin's mom admits drug-taking on day of disappearance

The mother of three denied that she neglected her children, while a previous witness described Kelly as a good mom.

All three accused pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

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