Read more
Kelly's sister, Michaela Daniels, testified that a week after Joshlin vanished, Smith told her the child was in the informal settlement.
Michaela Daniels testifies in the Joshlin Smith case. Picture: Screengrab
Michaela Daniels, the sister of Kelly Smith, the mother of missing Joshlin, took the stand at the Western Cape Circuit High Court in Saldanha on Monday. She told the court that a week after Joshlin vanished, Smith told her that Joshlin was in the informal settlement and that someone wanted to sell her child.
Joshlin disappeared from the family’s home in Middelpos on 19 January 2024.
Daniels, a constable at the Public Order Policing (POP) unit in Upington, stated that there are five siblings, one of whom is deceased. Smith is the eldest but did not grow up with Daniels and their other two brothers. According to Daniels, she lived with her grandmother in Saldanha, while the other siblings were raised by their parents in Aggeneys, a small town in the Northern Cape.
Daniels said she and Smith were not in regular telephonic contact until 19 December 2023. “Kelly sent me a message on Facebook Messenger. She asked me how I was and told me she went to the hair salon. I was shocked to hear about her after all the time.”
Daniels testified that Smith contacted her again on 5 January 2024 to request their mother’s number. “I didn’t send it to her because I didn’t have it. I also explained to her that I no longer live in Aggeneys but worked in Upington,” she said. “Kelly replied that she missed out on the family’s life.”
According to Daniels, she learned about Joshlin’s disappearance after her mother sent her a WhatsApp voice message on 20 January 2024. “The message said that Kelly called my mother and told her that Joshlin was missing and that they had been searching for her since the previous day. I answered that I hoped she would be found.”
Daniels then sent Smith a message before 1pm to ask if Joshlin had been found, but did not receive a reply. “After I sent her another message by 7pm, and she didn’t reply, I called her on Facebook Messenger, but she did not answer her phone.”
On 21 February, Daniels received a voice note from Smith on WhatsApp saying that Joshlin had not been found, but that she would find her child that day. “I then asked her where she was when Joshlin disappeared, if the police had identified any suspects, if Jos [Jose Emke, Joshlin’s biological father] didn’t know anything, and who the boy who Joshlin was last seen with. I also asked how Requen and Rachelle were, but she didn’t reply.”
According to Daniels, on 26 February at 12:55pm, she called Smith on WhatsApp and asked where Joshlin was. “She said my sister, Joshlin is here in the informal settlement. Someone wants to sell my child, but Saldanha is currently ‘too heated'”.
Daniels testified that she then asked Smith who her boyfriend’s friends [Jacquen “Boeta” Appollis, Smith’s boyfriend and another co-accused] were, who were there that day, where she went to work, where Requen was that day and why she didn’t send Joshlin to school.
“She replied, ‘My sister, you’re asking me the questions the police had already asked me. She also added that Joshlin’s school uniform was dirty and that she did not have money to buy washing powder. She then put the phone down.”
Daniels said she later sent Kelly a message and again wanted to know who the friends with Boeta were. Smith replied that it was Steveno van Rhyn and one Niello. She also said she worked at Kelly’s home, went to buy gas and returned before 4pm, but Joshlin still hadn’t returned.
The court also heard that the first time Daniels called Smith, she was in a state and said that Joshlin had not been found. “However, the second time I called her, she was happy and laughed. She told me that Gayton McKenzie had bought clothes for Requen and Rachelle. The more I asked her about Joshlin, the more she spoke about the clothes.”
Smith, Appollis, and Van Rhyn are accused of the kidnapping and human trafficking of Joshlin.
The trial continues.
Download our app