As the trial into the disappearance of Joshlin Smith continues to take centre stage, a light needs to be shed on the other children who are still missing in the Western Cape.
Joshlin has been missing since 19 February 2024, after vanishing without a trace from her home in Middelpos.
Despite ongoing search efforts, there have been no leads on the whereabouts of the green-eyed girl.
In the case of Joshlin’s disappearance, reports have emerged about a mysterious white woman seen in a white car, along with rumours suggesting she may have been sold to traditional healers or sangomas.
While this has yet to be confirmed in court, IOL has investigated four other cases eerily similar to the disappearance of Joshlin.
Before her, four children went missing—each exactly two years apart—vanishing without a trace to this day.
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Linathi Titshala
Linathi ‘Nomnqindi’ Titshala, nine years old at the time, was last seen on December 16, 2018.
The young girl from Delft, in Cape Town, was a slender build with dark brown eyes and had long braids at the time of her disappearance.
According to the missing person’s report by Western Cape Missing Persons Unit (WCMPU), Linathi was last seen on the Sunday after 10am on her way to her parents' home in Cork Tree Street in Thubelisha.
Lunamandla Sithonga
Lunamandla Sithonga, 12 years old at the time, was last seen on July 9, 2020.
The young girl from Mitchells Plain had short brown hair, brown eyes, was tall and thin in stature, and has a mole on the left side of her back as well as a scar on her right leg.
She was wearing a red and blue Eastville Primary School tracksuit.
According to WCMPU, the young girl was last seen on Thursday morning when she was dropped off at her school in Eastridge in Mitchells Plain. She never made it to class.
Kai-isha Meniers
Baby Kai-isha Meniers, who was only two months old at the time of her disappearance, was last seen on April 30, 2022.
The coloured female baby has brown hair, weighed about 4.6 kg, and was approximately 600mm tall at the time.
The baby from Bishop Lavis was wearing a green vest, blue leggings, wrapped in a pink baby blanket.
According to WCMPU, the baby was last seen on the Saturday at the Shoprite in Bishop Lavis when an unknown woman took her out of her pram.
Pictures of a woman have been widely circulated by police and in the media, however, her face is obstructed as she is wearing a face mask.
Ivakele Yeko
Ivakele Imvano Yeko, who was only six months old at the time of his disappearance on December 5, 2022.
The baby from Somerset West had short black hair at the time, brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a red t-shirt, nappy, blue dummy (pacifier) around his neck.
According to the WCMPU, the baby was last seen on Monday at about 1pm. His mother left him in the care of a trusted member of the community and left for work.
The individual then took the baby and her own child, nine years old at the time, with her to the liquor store in Victoria Road and asked an black woman with braids who spoke Zulu to watch both children while she went inside.
When the individual came out, the woman was gone with both children. The nine-year-old girl was later dropped near her home but Ivakele was not returned.
Speaking to IOL, Founder and Director of WCMPU, Candice van der Rheede, who has been involved in all the missing children’s cases believes something more sinister is at play here.
“It’s very peculiar that these children have been disappearing two years after each other. I do think they are linked, but I also want to alert people that these cases are real. Human trafficking is real,” she said.
Van der Rheede, who works across the Western Cape with missing persons also noticed another aspect in the disappearances.
“All of these children come out of townships or poverty-stricken areas where there is only a single parent. What is concerning is that there has not been a sighting on any of these children. With most of these [cases] mentioned a white car, a woman, and a witch doctor. Usually, with other missing children, we will receive sightings and those usually lead us to finding the children,” she said.
Van der Rheede raised her concern as she was still finding children being left unattended.
“Do not leave your child unattended. Always ensure your child is under supervision. Know your child’s whereabouts at all times. We’re living in a world filled with cruel people that will make money off your children, and that’s the reality,” she said.
Van der Rheede also urged the public to continue to be on the lookout for these missing children.
“I would like to urge the public to please be on the lookout for these children and be extra alert when it comes to their own children. Human trafficking is real. Within a split second, your child could be taken,” van der Rheede said.