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The mother of the missing Saldanha Bay girl, Joshlin Smith, is pregnant while awaiting trial behind bars in Cape Town’s notorious Pollsmoor Prison.

Raquel “Kelly” Smith, a self-confessed tik user and the mother of the six-year-old has been charged with human trafficking and kidnapping. She has been charged alongside her boyfriend Jacquin “Boeta” Appollis, close friend Steveno van Rhyn and her Middelpos neighbour Lourentia “Renz” Lombaard.

The 33-year-old mother of three said she left Joshlin in the care of Jacquin on 19 February when she went to work only to return to find that her daughter was missing. The case has been widely followed on social media, and despite an extensive search operation along the West Coast, the Grade 1 Diazville Primary School pupil has not been found.

After a gruelling 36-hour interrogation at Saldanha Police Station, Appollis and Van Rhyn allegedly confessed that Kelly instructed them to sell Joshlin to another Middelpos man for R20,000 for muti.

Per The Citizen, reverend June Dolley-Major, an activist who has actively joined in the search for little Joshlin, revealed to Rapport that Kelly is pregnant again. Apparently, Kelly initially wanted to keep the news a secret, but the recent attacks on her in prison have convinced her to alert prison authorities to the baby growing in her tummy.

Shortly after her arrival on 7 March at Pollsmoor, it was reported that Kelly was beaten up in the women’s awaiting-trial section by fellow remand prisoners resulting in her being placed in a single cell. Dolley-Major has asked the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) to ensure the safety of the mother and her unborn baby:

“I told them to follow up with her on whether she is pregnant and to make sure that she is held in a safe place because the baby can get hurt. The department then confirmed the pregnancy. Dolley-Major explained.

“Previously one could look after one’s baby in prison. There is a section for pregnant women and mothers with children. Mothers are usually allowed to look after their children born in prison for a period of two years,” Dolley-Major explained.

But in the case of Kelly, the circumstances will need to be determined by the criminal charges against her.

Joshlin’s two siblings, her brother aged 10 and three-year-old sister, are currently in the care of family members under the watchful eye of social development.

The search operation for Joshlin is still ongoing, with a reward of R250,000 offered for any information that could assist the police in locating the missing girl. Anyone with information on her whereabouts can anonymously contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111, or SMS Crime Line on 32211.

Kelly, Appollis and Van Rhyn will appear in court on 13 May again for further investigations. Lombaard, who was arrested on Friday, 15 March, will appear on 25 March for her bail hearing.

[source:citizen]