Popular TikToker Shakeerah ‘Shakes Warrior’ Ganief, on Wednesday testified that the mother of missing Joshlin Smith had repeatedly told her to stop searching for her daughter.

Speaking at the Western Cape High Court, which is sitting at the White City Multipurpose Centre in Diazville, Saldanha Bay, Ganief, the twelfth state witness, described Kelly Smith as rude when they first met on 21 February 2024, two days after the six-year-old disappeared. This was weeks before Kelly, her boyfriend Jacquen ‘Boeta’ Appollis, Steveno ‘Steffie’ van Rhyn and former accused Laurentia Lombaard were arrested.

Ganief, who had travelled from Cape Town after hearing about the child’s disappearance, explained:

"I received a call from someone who told me about Joshlin and asked for my help. I have assisted in many cases of missing children.

"On the evening of 20 February, I had a video call with Kelly. The conversation was unsettling - she was vague in her responses, and she didn’t seem like a mother whose child was missing.

"She became abrupt when I asked her questions. When I asked where Joshlin had been on Monday and with whom, she said she was with Boeta."

Ganief told the court that when she pressed further about Appollis, Kelly became defensive.

"I asked if Boeta had done something to Joshlin, and she reacted aggressively. I explained that we often hear about cases where brothers, stepfathers or grandfathers harm children.

"Kelly snapped back, saying I (Ganief) didn’t know Boeta. She told me she was the ‘evil one’ between the two of them and that whenever she wanted to hit the children, Boeta would stop her. I couldn’t understand why she was so defensive when I brought up Boeta and Joshlin."

Ganief also recalled noticing something unusual about Kelly’s hands.

"For someone who had just been cleaning a house, her hands were very dirty, as if she had been digging in the dirt. Her hands were black."

She went on to describe Kelly’s reaction when asked to join the search for Joshlin.

"On 21 February, I asked Kelly to help with the search, but she told us to stop looking for her child and to let the police do their job.

"I told her I wouldn’t stop searching. I stayed in Saldanha Bay until April."

mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za