Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za

3-minute read
07 March 2024 | 13:21 CAT

United Effort in Intensified Search for Missing Joslin Smith in Saldanha Bay. Image created by AI

Detectives in the Western Cape are questioning four people as the search continues for missing six-year-old Joslin Smith from Diazville in Saldanha Bay on the West Coast.

The disappearance of the Grade 1 girl with a bright smile has touched the hearts of South Africans across the country. The search for Joslin has been going on for days, with community members, NGOs, community activists, police officials, neighbourhood watches and representatives from different spheres of government descending on Saldanha Bay to help search for Joslin. She was last seen three weeks ago after her mother left her in the care of her boyfriend.

It is reported that two suspects in police custody confessed on Tuesday evening that they sold the Grade 1 Diazville Primary School pupil for muti.

Their chilling confession of selling Joslin to a Middelpos man for R20 000 surfaced during a marathon 36-hour-long interrogation at the Saldanha Police Station.

The man to whom they allegedly sold Joslin has been in police custody since Sunday.

The four individuals will appeared in the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, 7 March.

Meanwhile, Fake social media videos claiming that six-year-old Joslin Smith’s body has been discovered have angered Saldanha Bay residents, investigators and activists searching for the missing girl.

As police continued the search for Joslin Smith on Tuesday morning, investigators urged the public to refrain from spreading false information on social media and recording searches, as this could jeopardise the investigation.

Providing an update on the investigation of missing 7-year-old Joslin Smith, Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety Reagen Allen said, “Our collective aim is to ensure that Joslin is found unharmed and safely returned home. I am deeply alarmed at the manner in which this tragic matter has been politicised. Individuals and groups should refrain from this practice. It is highly immoral and insensitive to the friends, family, loved ones and the wider community. While I like many are focusing our collective efforts on reuniting Joshlin with her family; we continue to support other families who have missing children or family members. And we are partnering with law enforcement agencies to reunite them with their loved ones.”

Listen to the full interview on Your World Today with Moulana Muhammed Bham and Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety Reagen Allen.