‘IT’S YOUR FAULT’

KELLY Smith blames her mother Amanda Smith-Daniels for getting a life sentence for the kidnapping and trafficking of her child Joshlin.

Kelly, her berk Jacquen ‘Boeta’ Appollis and chommie Steven van Rhyn were convicted and damned to maximum sentences innie mang last Thursday.

They were found guilty of plotting to sell the little meisie with the green eyes to a sangoma.

The child has been missing since 19 February 2024, when Boeta and Steveno had taken her from her home in Middelpos, Saldanha Bay.

During last week’s sentencing proceedings, Joshlin’s ouma Amanda said in her victim impact statement that Kelly had made her and her two other children’s lives hell and called her “heartless”.

And now Smith-Daniels revealed that she has been admitted to a psychiatric facility for treatment for severe depression.

The weight of her daughter’s betrayal and the ongoing anguish of not knowing what happened to her granddaughter has taken a devastating toll.

In an emotional interview with IOL, she said: “I must deal with psychologists and psychiatrists. I have to work on my mental health because it’s too much.

“My pillow is riddled with tears. Every night I lie awake praying for Joshlin.”

Since the sentencing, Smith-Daniels says her daughter has cut all ties with her – even sending police officers to deliver the message that she wanted no further contact.

She says: “I haven’t seen her since she was sentenced.

“She blames me, I think, for what I said in court. But I only told the truth.”

With Kelly in prison and Joshlin still missing, Smith-Daniels is now responsible for raising the two other children, Rachelle and Racquen.

She has yet to tell Rachelle the full truth.

The ouma added: “She [Rachelle] is too young to understand. I just told her we’re going to find her sister and that her mommy will come back. Only Racquen knows the truth. I’ve taken him to psychologists to help him cope.”

Smith-Daniels said she now lives with constant fear and anxiety for the safety of her grandchildren.

She explained: “It weighs heavily on me every morning when I wake them for school. I feel like I need to be at the school all day to make sure nothing happens to them.”

Her daily life is a battle with trauma, made worse by the uncertainty over Joshlin’s fate, but still believes that the meisie will be found, despite Kelly not speaking out.

She said: “Even though there’s no good news about Joshlin yet, I still believe the police haven’t given up. I believe in Captain Lombard.”