A South African court on Thursday sentenced a woman to life in prison for kidnapping and selling her 6-year-old daughter, with prosecutors alleging that the girl was sold to a traditional healer for her eyes and fair complexion.

The girl, Joshlin Smith, went missing in February last year from her home in Saldanha Bay, a fishing town 135 kilometers (85 miles) north of Cape Town.

The disappearance sparked a huge nationwide search at the time, and her mother, Racquel "Kelly" Smith, was initially the object of much sympathy from across the country.

What did the court say?

Judge Nathan Erasmus ruled that Smith, 35, along with her boyfriend and a mutual friend, should be jailed for life for human trafficking.

In addition, they were all sentenced to a concurrent 10 years of imprisonment for kidnapping.

Their names were also to be added to the child protection register, the judge said.

 "There is nothing that I can find that is redeeming and deserving of a lesser sentence than the harshest I can impose," he said. 

Erasmus said Smith, who has two other children, had shown "no indication of remorse" over Joshlin's disappearance.

He also said the fact that all the accused were drug users was no excuse.

Many of the people in the courtroom, who included the girl's grandmother, applauded when the verdict was announced.

What did prosecutors allege?

The judge did not say in his ruling who the girl was sold to or why.

But prosecutors alleged that Joshlin was sold to a sangoma, or traditional healer, for 20,000 rand (€993, $1,121), with the girl desired for her "eyes and skin." 

Photos released on the internet after her disappearance showed Joshlin's striking green eyes.

A pastor who gave testimony at the trial, which began in March, said the mother had told him of the planned sale in 2023.

The kidnapping of children is on the rise in South Africa, which has one of the highest crime rates in the world.

Edited by: Farah Bahgat