Johannesburg, 07 May, 2025 / 5:15 pm (ACI Africa).
Members of the South African Council of Churches (SACC) have described the involvement of a woman in her child’s kidnapping in South Africa as a terrible case of betrayal.
Racquel Chantel Smith was charged at a South African court with kidnapping and selling her young daughter. The woman was charged alongside her partner and another man over the disappearance of her daughter Joshlin Smith more than a year ago. Joshlin, who was six years old when she disappeared, is still missing following a nationwide police hunt.
In a statement published on May 3, SACC members said they had received the news of the conviction of Joshlin’s mother and the other accused adults with sadness and shock.
“It is sad and shocking that one of the convicted is the mother of the little girl, who has been found to have participated in the disappearance of the child,” the Christian leaders said, reiterating the court’s sentiments on the gravity of the offence.
“The court found that the actions of the accused were in stark violation of the moral and legal obligations inherent in the parent-child relationship,” the members of the Christian entity which includes representatives of the Catholic Church in South Africa, said.
