Vincent Cruywagen

Cape Town

Multimedia Journalist at Daily Maverick

Multimedia journalist based in Cape Town, South Africa. @vcruywagen Email me at [email protected]

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Articles

Lifman murder accused duo lose appeal bid for bail

1 day ago | dailymaverick.co.za | Vincent Cruywagen

AGE OF ASSASSINS Lifman murder accused Johannes Jacobs and Gert Bezuidenhout have been refused bail.
Trio convicted in Joshlin Smith trial to know their sentences on 29 May

6 days ago | dailymaverick.co.za | Vincent Cruywagen

The sentencing proceedings for Racquel Smith, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn, convicted of human trafficking and kidnapping Joshlin Smith, will be held from 27 to 29 May 2025. Victim impact reports from individuals and community members, as well as evidence from a human trafficking expert, are central to the State’s arguments in aggravation of sentencing for the three convicted of kidnapping and trafficking Joshlin Smith.
Kelly Smith’s mother - my daughter said she’ll ‘speak at sentencing proceedings’

1 week ago | dailymaverick.co.za | Vincent Cruywagen

Amanda Daniels-Smith, the mother of convicted kidnapper and child trafficker Racquel Smith, also known as Kelly, says she has forgiven her child, but still wants to know what happened to Joshlin Smith. Following Racquel “Kelly” Smith’s conviction for the kidnapping and human trafficking of her daughter Joshlin, Amanda Daniels-Smith, Kelly’s mother, visited her in the improvised holding cells at the Saldanha Bay Multipurpose Centre.
Joshlin Smith case — Why court found accused guilty

1 week ago | dailymaverick.co.za | Vincent Cruywagen

MISSING CHILD From left: Jacquen Appollis, Steveno van Rhyn Racquel ‘Kelly’ Smith – the three people accused of kidnapping and trafficking Joshlin Smith learn of their fate as Judge Nathan Erasmus hands down judgment in Saldanha Bay on 2 May 2024. (Photo: Brenton Geach / Gallo Images ) The evidence of an evangelist, as well as the decision by Racquel Smith, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn not to testify, were key elements that led to their conviction in the Joshlin Smith human...
Smith, Appollis and Van Rhyn convicted in Joshlin Smith case

1 week ago | dailymaverick.co.za | Vincent Cruywagen

NEWSFLASH Kelly Smith during the Joshlin Smith kidnapping trial at White City Multipurpose Centre on 2 May 2025 in Saldanha Bay, South Africa.
Defence says State failed to prove case beyond reasonable doubt

2 weeks ago | dailymaverick.co.za | Vincent Cruywagen

MISSING CHILD The accused in the Joshlin Smith kidnapping trial – Jacquen Appollis, Steveno van Rhyn and Kelly Smith – in the Western Cape High Court sitting at the White City Multipurpose Centre in Saldanha Bay on 27 March 2025. (Photo: Gallo Images / Die Burger / Jaco Marais) The accused in the Joshlin Smith kidnapping trial will learn their fate on Friday. If found guilty they face life sentences. The counsel for Joshlin Smith’s mother, Racquel Smith, better known as Kelly, has cast doubt...
In closing arguments, prosecutors call on court to convict trio in Joshlin Smith case

2 weeks ago | dailymaverick.co.za | Vincent Cruywagen

MISSING CHILD From left to right, Jacquen Appollis, Steveno van Rhyn and Racquel Smith were allegedly part of a plot to sell Joshlin Smith on 19 February 2025. (Photo: Supplied) The State’s prayer for the conviction of the three accused in the Joshlin Smith kidnapping and human trafficking case is based on the premises that Racquel Smith, better known as Kelly and Joshlin’s mother, the alleged mastermind, intended to sell her child in August 2023, that there was an agreement between the...
State prepares to unspool ‘golden thread’ of truth

2 weeks ago | dailymaverick.co.za | Vincent Cruywagen

MISSING CHILD The State wants Judge Nathan Erasmus to convict Racquel Smith, also known as Kelly, the mother of missing Joshlin, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn, on counts of kidnapping and human trafficking originating from Joshlin’s disappearance-this is their argument, but do they have enough evidence?
Accused in Joshlin Smith trial decline to take stand or call witnesses

3 weeks ago | dailymaverick.co.za | Vincent Cruywagen

MISSING CHILD An emotional moment for Racquel ‘Kelly’ Smith, alongside her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis, during proceedings in the Western Cape High Court sitting in Saldanha Bay on Wednesday, 23 April. (Photo: Vincent Cruywagen) The three accused in the Joshlin Smith case have spurned taking the stand or calling witnesses in their defence, meaning much of the State’s evidence against them will go unchallenged. Racquel Smith, also known as Kelly, the mother of missing Joshlin Smith, and her two...
Court hears ‘Kelly’ Smith’s timeline of the day Joshlin went missing

3 weeks ago | dailymaverick.co.za | Vincent Cruywagen

MISSING CHILD Raquel ‘Kelly’ Smith, mother of missing girl Joshlin Smith, in the dock in the Western Cape High Court sitting in Saldanha.