Today’s sentencing of Kelly Smith, Jacquen Appolis, and Steveno van Rhyn to life imprisonment for human trafficking, and an additional 10 years for kidnapping, marks an important step toward justice in the heartbreaking case of Joshlin Smith.
While this outcome sends a strong message that crimes against children will not go unpunished, it cannot be the end. Joshlin is still missing. Justice will only be done when she is found.
South Africa faces some of the highest rates of violence against women and children in the world. In a country where the most vulnerable live in constant fear of exploitation and abuse, no one can claim that we are doing enough.
This sentence should encourage other victims to come forward — and help restore some trust in our justice system. But our police and courts must keep showing that they will not rest until every child is safe.
We call on the SAPS to continue the search for Joshlin with urgency and determination, and to ensure that no family is left without answers.