Keneilwe Shalaba (32) appeared in court on Monday (25/11) on charges of human trafficking, conspiracy to commit robbery, and making a false statement to the police.

She was arrested on Tuesday (19/11) after police investigations revealed that there was no kidnapping and she allegedly confessed to lying to the police.

“The charges stem from allegations that Shalaba sold her son to unknown individuals and reported a false case of kidnapping,” said Gauteng NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahinjana.

“The state intends to oppose her release on bail and while she is in custody, the child’s whereabouts are still unknown. Police are still looking for him.”

It is alleged that on Sunday, 10 November, the mother sold her child, Kutlwano Shalaba. On Wednesday, 13 November, she opened a case of kidnapping at the Boipatong police station, claiming her son was snatched from her back by a group of three men who fled the scene in a silver VW Polo. Police started looking for the toddler and the suspects immediately after a case was reported. A week into the search Shalaba was arrested.

Vaalweekblad reports during the court proceedings on Monday (25/11), Shalaba declined a state legal representative and opted to appoint a private attorney.

Police are still searching for Kutlwano Shalaba (2). Photo supplied

Meanwhile, the case of Joslin Smith (6) will be back in court in January after it was moved to the high court in Cape Town.

It has been nine months since Smith went missing from her home in Saldanha Bay on the Cape West Coast.

Daily Sun reports Joslin’s mother Racquel “Kelly” Smith allegedly planned and played a huge role in her disappearance according to facts submitted to the court by the state. The document supposedly revealed that Kelly planned her daughter’s disappearance six months before she went missing.

Kelly Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Apollis, and his friend Steveno Duwayne van Rhyn remain in custody until the pre-trial hearing in January.

OFM News/Zenande Mpame