South African mother goes on trial for kidnapping

The mother of a six -year -old girl has disappeared more than a year ago in South Africa, who is accused of organizing her kidnapping.

Kelly Smith, her boyfriend Jacin Apollis and their friend Stepheno Van Rin, were arrested after Smith’s daughter, Goshlin, lost from outside her home in the Gulf of Saldan, near Cape Town, in February last year.

Goshlin’s disappearance has sent shock waves across South Africa, and despite her significant search, they have not yet been found.

All three have acknowledged that they were not guilty of the charges of trafficking in human beings and kidnapping.

Ms. Smith initially said that Goshlin was lost after she left the little girl in the care of Mr. Apollis.

The prosecutors later accused her of “sold, exchanged or exchanged” six -year -old and lied to her disappearance.

After that, this was followed by a large -scale intensive research on the little girl, but the attention soon turned to Mrs. Smith after her friend and previous participation, Lorentia Lombarbard, turned to the state witnesses, according to the daily news site in South Africa.

Her research attracted the attention of Sports Minister Jayton McKenzi, who made a reward of one million Rand (42,500 pounds; $ 54,000) for her safe return.

The trial will continue from March 3-28 at the SALDANHA Center, which was reshaped in a Supreme Court specifically to the case.

The judge, who heads the case earlier this year, explained that the site was chosen “to ensure access to society” to the procedures throughout the marathon trial.