The judge has handed down sentences — but a little girl is still missing and a community’s anguish remains raw

Amanda Daniels said that Smith, who was convicted earlier this month, had ripped the family apart and still refused to take responsibility for her actions

Steveno van Rhyn detailed alleged police torture as the trial-within-a-trial continued in the Western Cape high court

Jacquen ‘Boeta’ Appollis told the Western Cape high court which parts of his allegedly coerced confession were true and which were false

Sergeant Dawid Fortuin was being cross-examined by attorney Nobahle Mkabayi, acting for accused two, Steveno van Rhyn

Two men accused, alongside the child’s mother, of kidnapping and trafficking her last year have alleged being abused into confessing to information relating to her disappearance

A female sergeant has been accused of taking part in the alleged torture of accused two, but senior officers denied any knowledge or involvement

Brigadier Leon Hanana told the court he had not personally interviewed the suspects and had received no reports of misconduct

Judge Nathan Erasmus said online harassment threatened trust in South Africa’s justice system and caused ‘suspicion’

Lourentia Lombaard irks the judge with her ‘assumptions’, while Kelly Smith is again portrayed as a callous mother

Lourentia Lombaard admitted she repeatedly withheld information from police about the alleged sale of the child, blaming fear, anger, drug use and a promised R1 000 payment

Judge Nathan Erasmus said this was not the first time Lorentia Lombaard became unwell ‘when it came to crunch time’

Lourentia Lombaard, the accused-turned-state-witness in the kidnapping and trafficking trial, has repeatedly lied to police

Judge Nathan Erasmus had earlier cautioned Lourentia Lombaard that her testimony would determine her credibility

State witness Lourentia Lombaard continued her testimony on Monday, sharing chilling details in the kidnapping and human trafficking trial

Statistics are scant, but the foster care system in South Africa has its fair share of critics. There is a severe backlog, inadequate resources and a shortage of trained foster parents, meaning high turnover rates

The Joslin Smith trial reveals a tangled narrative of addiction, abuse and contradictions, as questions arise about her role in the child’s disappearance

A ‘Nigerian man’ allegedly told Smith that the child was in a container, on a boat, heading for West Africa, the court heard

Siliziwe Mbambo also said that according to the case file, the mother of Joshlin Smith threatened to assault her own grandmother

The mother of Joslin wept as her former employer, Carlyn Zeegers, described her as a ‘good mother’ in the kidnapping and human trafficking trial