Four suspects, Joshlin’s mother, Racquel ‘Kelly’ Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Apollis, a man named Steveno van Rhyn and another woman Phumza Sigaqa, appeared before the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court, on Thursday, charged with the kidnapping and trafficking of the six-year-old, who went missing on Monday, 19 February 2024.
Joshlin Smith muti ritual fact check: Here’s what we know
Police have held onto the sensitive aspects of the case, despite several leaks which authorities and City officials have condemned, therefore, not much has been revealed about the evidence collected against the quartet.
However, reports have emerged that following a gruelling interrogation, Jacquen and Steveno apparently grew a conscience and confessed to trafficking Joshlin to a sangoma for R20 000.
The sale of Joshlin Smith, it’s said, was for a muti ritual.
While it is of utmost importance to note that the latter has yet to be ventilated as fact, credence is lent to the inclusion of Phumza Sigaqa as an alleged role-player in Joshlin’s disappearance.
Also, the latest update in the search for Joshlin came from Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie, who, on Thursday, revealed investigators were focused on an informal settlement in Saldanha Bay, occupied by a community of traditional healers.
“We found an abandoned vehicle with open doors deep in the veld, the veld is apparently a place where sangomas gather and do rituals. We found burning candles in the bushes. [The] community were (sp) not allowed to search huts there as they need permission [and] warrant.
“The police interrogated the vehicle owner. We tracked him to his house where he refused the people entry. Knysna, George, Oudtshoorn, Koukamma, [and] Bitou all had masses of people helping to look for anything suspicious and rallied their police to have roadblocks everywhere. The police has (sp) all the information. they are looking at camera footages of filling station (sp) and surrounding areas. We are now awaiting to see if the cops found anything on video footage, warrants etc,” he wrote.
When this article was published, Joshlin Smith had been missing for 18 days, with hopes of recovering the six-year-old alive dwindling every nightfall.
Kelly has, from what we understand, refused to cooperate and, instead, is vehemently rooted in the assertion that she had no involvement in her daughter’s disappearance.
Jacquen and Steveno are believed to be the crucial cog for the State’s kidnapping and trafficking case, with the increased likelihood that a premeditated murder charge could be included at a later stage.
Phumza Sigaqa presents a very important part of this story. She is an enigma, with all the attention honed in on Kelly and Jacquen, who did themselves no favours going on a media blitz in the past week to proclaim their innocence, a move that only heightened suspicion of their involvement in the disappearance.
If police manage to crack Sigaqa, a clearer picture may emerge of Joshlin’s fate, which leads us to the question:
Why do sangomas sacrifice children in muti rituals?
Muti, a term derived from the Zulu word umuthi, meaning “tree,” is a traditional form of medicine in South Africa that encompasses both physical and spiritual healing practices.
It is deeply rooted in the belief systems of many South African cultures, particularly among the Zulu, Xhosa, and other Nguni peoples.
Muti uses a range of natural remedies derived from plants and animals, intended for healing and protection. Traditional healers, known as sangomas or inyangas, are the practitioners of muti, playing a crucial role in the health and well-being of their communities.
They are revered for their knowledge of herbal medicine and spiritual guidance, often sought after for ailments that are believed to have both physical and supernatural causes.
Muti’s applications are diverse, addressing a variety of physical, emotional, and spiritual issues. It includes remedies for common health problems, protection against evil spirits, and the enhancement of personal well-being.
Many of these practices are based on ancient knowledge passed down through generations, with a profound respect for nature and the ancestral world.
In the context of healing, muti promotes balance and harmony between the individual and their environment, reflecting a holistic approach to health that is characteristic of many African traditional medicines.
While muti is primarily associated with healing and protective measures, there exists a darker aspect related to its misuse for personal gain or to harm others.
This negative application of muti is not a reflection of the traditional practice itself but rather an aberration that exploits cultural beliefs for malicious purposes.
Instances of this include the use of muti in criminal activities, where it is believed to provide invincibility, wealth, or harm to enemies.
The most disturbing aspect of the misuse of muti involves the sacrifice of children and albinos, driven by the belief that muti made from human body parts is more powerful.
These rituals, although not a part of mainstream traditional practice, occur in some criminal circles under the guise of achieving particular objectives, such as wealth, power, or protection against harm.
Children and albinos are often targeted due to beliefs that their innocence or unique physical traits imbue the muti with greater potency.
The reasons behind these heinous acts are complex, intertwining deep-seated beliefs, superstition, and desperation.
Some practitioners, deviating from ethical traditional healing, claim that certain rituals requiring human body parts can bring about success, influence, or even cure diseases believed to be incurable by conventional medicine.
These beliefs, though widely discredited and condemned by mainstream sangomas and inyangas, persist in some shadowy fringes of society.
Investigations into crimes associated with muti killings have revealed a range of methods used to acquire body parts for rituals.
These include abduction, murder, and the desecration of graves. The parts are then used in various rituals, often involving complex ceremonies believed to activate the muti’s power.
In the tragic case of six-year-old Joshlin Smith, the involvement of a sangoma highlights the extreme misuse of traditional beliefs for criminal purposes, the facts of which have yet to be ventilated in court.
A factsheet on what we know so far about Joshlin Smith’s disappearance
Here’s a detailed factsheet on the disappearance of six-year-old Joshlin Smith, arranged chronologically based on the developments around her search, the arrests of suspects, and other important information on the case:
- 19 February 2024: Joshlin Smith disappears from the Saldanha Bay area, approximately 120 kilometres north of Cape Town, South Africa.
- 20 February 2024: Saldanha police station formally launches an investigation into the six-year-old’s disappearance a day after she was reported missing by her mother.
- 22 February 2024: The search for Joshlin Smith takes the first of many distressing turns when a bloody ditch is discovered behind the structure where she lives. The alarming find leads searchers to an empty structure nearby, where a fresh grave had been dug. However, the bloody ditch is quickly eliminated as not linked to Joshlin’s disappearance.
- Post-Disappearance: A massive search operation is launched involving the South African navy, police, firefighters, specialised dog units, and hundreds of community members. The search covers sand dunes, and scrubland near Joshlin’s home, and uses drones for aerial views. Items such as a knife and a girl’s clothing stained with blood are found and sent to a laboratory for forensic examination.
- Search Developments: Despite extensive daily searches with the help of policing resources, K9 units, Marine Unit members, watercraft, drones, and experienced search and rescue volunteers, no sign of Joshlin is found. The Western Cape’s social development department intervenes to ensure the safety of Joshlin’s siblings. The search effort is scaled down after exhausting all avenues without finding any trace of Joshlin.
- Reward Offer: A reward for information leading to Joshlin’s location increases from R20 000 to over R500 000.
- Family Allegations: Allegations of drug abuse within the family home emerge. Joshlin’s mother, Kelly, admits to past drug use but claims to have been clean since Joshlin’s disappearance.
- 6 March 2024: Four individuals, two men, and two women aged between 26 and 34, are detained and questioned in connection with Joshlin’s disappearance. They are expected to appear in the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court.
- 7 March 2024: Joshlin’s mother, Kelly, and her boyfriend, Jacquen Appollis, are unveiled as two of four suspects charged with kidnapping and trafficking the six-year-old.
- 13 March 2024: Date set for the suspects to return to court for bail information.
- Investigation Ongoing: The investigation continues with a team of detectives visiting several places within Saldanha Bay and interviewing multiple individuals. The search for Joshlin involves not only law enforcement and search teams but also NGOs, community activists, and government representatives.