Saldanha Bay – The Western Cape High Court, sitting in Saldanha Bay, has heard explosive testimony from the sister of Racquel "Kelly" Smith, the mother of missing Joshlin Smith.
Mickeyla Daniels, a police constable attached to Public Order Policing (POP) in Upington, Northern Cape, took the stand, revealing details of conversations with her sister in the days following Joshlin's disappearance. The testimony also brought Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie into the spotlight, after Daniels challenged Smith's account during a live social media interview with the politician.
Smith, along with her boyfriend, Jacquen "Boeta" Appollis, and Steveno van Rhyn, are on trial, having pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping and human trafficking. Joshlin remains missing, and the trial continues to grip the nation.
Daniels told the court that Kelly was the eldest of five children. While Kelly grew up with their grandmother in Saldanha, the rest of her siblings grew up with their parents in the Northern Cape. Mickeyla said that she and Kelly never had regular contact because Kelly often changed her phone number.
"We lost contact over the years. She always changed her cell numbers, and I could never get hold of her. Then, in December 2023, I received a message via Facebook Messenger from Kelly for the first time," she said.
They lost contact again, but when she found out on 20 February 2024 that Joshlin was missing, she contacted Smith – again via Facebook messenger. Smith confirmed that the child was missing.
"I sent her many messages about what happened, but she didn't answer," Daniels added.
Days later, Daniels said she managed to find her sister's number.
"I called her and asked where the child was, but all she said was that her child was missing."
She said she questioned her sister about her boyfriend's friends, where her children were that day, and why she never sent Joshlin to school.
"She then said to me, 'My sister, the questions you are asking me are what police already asked me, and I'm not going to answer these questions again,'" Daniels testified.
"She then told me she had to go and ended the call," Daniels said.
She told the court that during their initial communication, shortly after Joshlin went missing, Smith was in tears.
'My Child is Here in the Informal Settlement'
However, Daniels said she was contacted on 20 February 2024, by her mother who explained that Joshlin had disappeared. She said: “I sent Kelly a message before 1pm, she did not reply. I sent another message before 7pm to ask if Joshlin had been found. She didn’t answer. I called her on Facebook messenger, but she did not answer.
On February 21, 2024, Daniels received a voice note from Kelly stated Joshlin had not been found yet but claimed she “will get her back” that day.
Daniels only managed to get a hold of Kelly on Monday, February 26, 2024, where the siblings had a call via WhatsApp.
Daniels testified she asked Kelly where Joshlin was, and, in her own words, Kelly said: “My suster, my kind is hier in die plakkerskamp. Iemand wil my kind verkoop maar Saldanha is nou 'n hotspot. (my child is here in the informal settlement. Someone wants to sell my child, but Saldanha is currently a hotspot).”
But in a later exchange, Smith came across as happy and told her that Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie had bought her other two children clothing.
The witness said: "The more I asked about Joshlin, the more she told me about Gayton McKenzie. But she was happy."
Clash on Social Media: Gayton McKenzie Enters the Fray
Daniels asked McKenzie to add her to the live video so that she could set the record straight.
"I said that what Kelly said was not the truth," she said.
She told McKenzie that Smith told her the child was still in the informal settlement and that someone wanted to sell her, but that Saldanha Bay was heated at that moment, the witness added.
Daniels testified she asked Kelly where Joshlin was, and, in her own words, Kelly said: “My suster, my kind is hier in die plakkerskamp. Iemand wil my kind verkoop maar Saldanha is nou 'n hotspot. (my child is here in the informal settlement. Someone wants to sell my child, but Saldanha is currently a hotspot).”
She also then explained she and Kelly had a fallout on a social media platform when Gayton McKenzie took Kelly to Spur.
“I told him what Kelly said about her child still being in the plakkerskamp, someone wanting to sell her child and that Saldanha is a hotspot.
“Kelly then attacked me, saying I must stop lying and I won’t get a promotion.”
Smith's lawyer, Rinesh Sivnarain, told the witness that his client disputed Daniel's testimony.
"My client said that on the second occasion you spoke to her, she was not happy and laughing, as you said," the lawyer put to her.
"That's not true because she laughed the whole time and told me about the clothing Gayton McKenzie had bought [the other two children]," the witness said, adding that her cousin had heard Smith laughing.
Sivnarain also put it to Daniels that Smith would tell the court that it was her motherly instinct that the child was still in the formal settlement.
But Daniels said Smith's precise words were: "My sister, my child is in the informal settlement, and someone wants to sell my child, but it's too heated in the informal settlement."
She said Smith mentioned nothing about a motherly instinct.
The trial continues. The conflicting accounts and the involvement of a prominent political figure have added layers of complexity to an already heart-wrenching case. The search for Joshlin continues, as the court seeks to uncover the truth behind her disappearance.
