The mother of missing Joshlin Smith told her grade one teacher that the girl had been kidnapped by Nigerians and was being transported to West Africa by boat. Testifying in court today, Tahirih Edna Maart, a teacher at Diazville Primary School in Saldanha, recounted that Smith made the allegations four days after the girl disappeared in February 2024.
IT WAS SHOCKING
Maart testified that she was at a petrol station with two colleagues to fill up her car when Smith suddenly opened a passenger door and made the allegations. "I was shocked, she said, 'Teacher, I want to tell you something confidential. I received a call from a Nigerian man, and this person said I must play quickly'. She said the man told her that her daughter is on a boat in a container on her way to West Africa," Maart told the court. She said she asked Smith how she knew the man was Nigerian, and she didn't answer. Testifying in Afrikaans, the teacher also told the court that she asked Smith if she told the police about the Nigerian man; she said she was scared because the community wanted to hurt her. "Just before she got out, she said in a very soft voice, 'Remember, Boeta is not guilty.' She got out of the car and left." Boeta is Smith's co-accused and boyfriend, Jacquen Appollis's nickname.
SHE FAILED TO NOTIFY HER TEACHER ABOUT HER DAUGHTER'S DISAPPEARANCE
According to Maart, Smith never informed her about the grade 1 girl being missing. She told the court that she was only informed about Joshlin's disappearance by one of the parents in a WhatsApp text on Tuesday, 20 February 2024. "I received a WhatsApp message at about 4:30am. I didn't immediately react. I contacted the parent at about 6 am to ask if she was talking about Joslin Smith, and the parent said yes. "At about 6.50 am, I called Kelly Smith to tell her I had heard from the parent of a fellow pupil that her daughter was missing. Kelly was crying a lot, and I asked her where Joslin was the previous day. She immediately stopped crying, and I asked her again, 'Did you hear me? Where was Joslin yesterday?' The call went dead, and that was the end of the story," Maart testified. Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis, and Stevano van Rhyn face charges of kidnapping and human trafficking. They are standing trial at the Western Cape High Court, sitting in Saldanha Bay. The trial continues.
