[imagesource:andretruter/facebook]

Joshlin Smith’s very own mother has been charged with human trafficking and kidnapping in a horrible twist to the sad story.

Kelly Smith was charged along with her boyfriend, Jacquen Appollis, and two others, following their arrest. Smith’s daughter, Joshlin, disappeared outside her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town.

The four accused appeared in court but were not asked to plead in a case that has transfixed South Africans. The prosecution alleges that Smith instructed Mr Appollis and another one of the accused, Stefano van Rhyn, to sell Joshlin to a traditional healer for R20,000, as per BBC.

Joshlin has not yet been found, despite a massive search operation involving the navy, drones and sniffer dogs. On Saturday, investigators found bloodied clothing in an open field in the area where Joshlin disappeared over a fortnight ago.

Smith and her co-accused are due to appear in court again on 13 March. They have all said they would apply for legal aid.

Smith had previously told reporters that she had not given up hope of finding her daughter following her disappearance outside their home in an informal settlement.

“My motherly instincts are telling me my daughter is still alive and in this area. We will find her, I will walk on foot to find her. I will look in every little shack, I’m going to do it by myself if I have to.”

Frantic community members searched sewers and pits in the days following the girl’s disappearance. Saldanha Bay Mayor André Truter said an angry mob had been raiding homes and accosting neighbours in search of the child. A R100,000 reward has been offered to anyone with information on her whereabouts.

A mother selling her own child is almost too ghastly to think about.

[source:bbc]