Kidnapping

Twelve South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members have been arrested in connection with the murder of Lieutenant Colonel Ngwako Frans Mathipa, a senior Hawks investigator, in August 2023. The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) announced a breakthrough in the case, with two suspects arrested on Sunday, followed by ten more on Monday. Mathipa, […]

The mother of a woman convicted of trafficking her six-year-old daughter has delivered a devastating victim impact statement, accusing her of destroying the family and refusing to take responsibility. Amanda Smith Daniels spoke directly to her daughter Kelly Smith in court on Wednesday, saying she had “come to break us and tear us apart” following […]

South African police rescued American pastor Josh Sullivan following a deadly shootout that left three kidnappers dead in the Eastern Cape city of Gqeberha on Tuesday. Sullivan, 45, was kidnapped last week by armed men who stormed his church during a prayer service. The Hawks, South Africa’s elite police unit, conducted the rescue operation that […]

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – A witness has told a South African court that Kelly Smith, the mother of missing six-year-old Joshlin Smith, admitted knowing what happened to her daughter and claimed someone paid her to stay silent, as the trial continued on 17 March 2025. Laurentia Lombaard gave evidence on the third day of […]

CAPE TOWN- The Western Cape High Court heard harrowing testimony from formerly accused witness, Lourentia Lombaard, who detailed the alleged sale of missing six-year-old Joshlin Smith for R20,000. The trial is held at the White City Multipurpose Centre in Diazville, Saldanha Bay. Lombaard testified that Racquel ‘Kelly’ Smith revealed the sale agreement to her, stating […]

CAPE TOWN- In a dramatic twist in the case of missing six-year-old Joshlin Smith, her class teacher, Edna Maart, has testified in the Western Cape High Court that the child’s mother, Kelly Smith, claimed Joshlin was being transported to West Africa by boat. Maart revealed that the day after Joshlin Smith vanished, Kelly had confided […]

A Harare court has convicted Talent Mhembere, 33, of kidnapping after the inDrive taxi driver detained and drove off with a passenger who couldn’t provide exact change for her fare. Faith Gwena, 28, testified that Mhembere locked her in his vehicle and sped away on November 19, 2023, when she tried to pay her US$2.50 […]