As the Joshlin Smith’s aunt from the Northern Cape took the stand on Monday, the court was shocked to find out this was Kelly Smith’s sister.
Mickeyla Daniels, a police constable attached to the Public Order Policing (POP) in Upington in the Northern Cape told the court 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.
The sisters did not have much contact with each other but had a sisterly bond when they would be visiting each other.
Daniels told the court she was not telephonically in contact with Kelly as she never had a stable phone or stable phone number.
On December 19, 2023, Kelly reached out to her youngest sister via Facebook messenger asking her about herself.
“I was shocked to hear from her after all these years,” the court heard.
Daniels said she was again contacted by Kelly on January 5, 2024, via the same social media platform.
However, Daniels said she was contacted on February 20, 2024, by her mother who explained that Joshlin had disappeared.
“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,” Daniels said.
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 said she asked Kelly where she was on that Monday, asked if there were suspects, who was the boy Joshlin was last seen with, who was the person who made this information known? She also asked if Josh [Joshlin’s father] or her brother knew anything. Kelly never responded.
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 sister, 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).”
Daniels said she asked Kelly about who her boyfriend’s friends were that were present on the day, who Kelly went to work for, what time she got home, where her son was and why Joshlin did not go to school.
Kelly then responded telling her: “My sister, the questions you’re asking is what police asked already. I know you’re a police officer, but I am not going to answer these questions again.”
She also stated Kelly said Joshlin did not go to school because her school uniform was dirty, and she did not have money for washing powder.
“She said she has to go and put the phone off”.
Daniels also told the court that Kelly stated she had worked at Kelly (Zeegers’) place and that she got home before 4pm, went to refill her gas tank, and returned home and Joshlin was still not home.
When asked to explain Kelly’s demeanour, the sister said the first time they spoke Kelly was frantic and, in a state, but the following day she was happy and laughed a lot.
“She told me Gayton McKenzie bought clothes for her children. The more I asked about Joshlin the more she went on about Gayton buying clothes,” Daniels said.
She also explained she and Kelly had a fallout on a social media platform when McKenzie took Kelly to Spur.
“Gayton was interviewing Kelly on a live and I was watching. Kelly then said I said the child was sold for R20,000. That is when I commented and asked Gayton to add me to the live. 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,” Daniels testified.
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