Elie Challita, the father of four-year-old murder and rape victim Nada-Jane Challita, takes the stand in the Johannesburg High Court on August 27 in the case against Amber-Lee Hughes.

Challita was expected to be the first witness called by the State in March. His evidence forms part of proceedings in the matter involving Hughes, who faces charges relating to the death of Nada-Jane.

The hearing comes after the matter was previously postponed in June following a scheduling breakdown between Judge Richard Mkhabela’s office and court administration, with court dates not being properly confirmed and communicated.

Challita was Nada-Jane’s primary caregiver

Challita told the court that he and Nada-Jane’s mother, Amy Johnston, ended their relationship in 2021.

Despite the separation, Nada-Jane continued having contact with her mother through phone and video calls, while Johnston also visited on one or two occasions.

Challita said he was Nada-Jane’s primary caregiver and that she stayed with him when she was not at school, including weekends and holidays.

He described taking care of her daily needs, including bathing her, washing her, preparing and feeding her meals, playing with her, putting her to bed and attending to her grooming.

He also told the court that when he took her to school, she had food and clean clothes and was properly cared for.

Challita said he never dropped Nada-Jane off at school neglected or wearing a soiled nappy.

He said he was doing his best to raise his daughter while working and dealing with the loss of his own father.

Relationship with Hughes began at school

Challita said his relationship with Hughes began while Nada-Jane was attending Baby Steps Preschool in 2022, where Hughes was a teacher.

He told the court that he initially received handwritten notes from Hughes on pieces of paper placed inside Nada-Jane’s school diary.

The notes contained compliments about his parenting and encouragement, including comments about how strongly he was raising his daughter.

According to Challita, Hughes also offered to help him with Nada-Jane, initially offering assistance with brushing her curly hair, dressing her and looking after her if he needed help.

He said Hughes told him she was only a phone call away if he needed assistance with Nada-Jane.

The communication later moved from notes in the school diary to WhatsApp after they exchanged telephone numbers.

Challita said their conversations changed from being primarily about Nada-Jane to flirting, jokes and eventually a romantic relationship.

He acknowledged that the flirting came from both sides.

Relationship became increasingly troubled

Challita told the court that he understood the relationship between himself and Hughes was “borderline” because of her employment at the school.

He said Hughes told him the relationship was not permitted by her workplace.

The relationship later became troubled, with Challita describing it as toxic.

He said the main source of their arguments was Hughes’ infidelity.

According to Challita, one of their major arguments occurred after he learned about Hughes and a man named Calvin.

He told the court that he woke Hughes, asked her to pack her belongings and asked her to call her father to collect her.

Hughes initially remained at the house for about two hours before leaving.

Challita said their arguments continued and that infidelity remained a recurring issue in their relationship.

Hughes initially offered support with Nada-Jane

During the earlier part of their relationship, Challita said Hughes did not raise concerns about the way he cared for Nada-Jane.

He told the court that she was aware of his interactions with a social worker and even offered to assist him.

Messages presented to the court showed Hughes praising him as a father and expressing confidence in how he and Nada-Jane were doing.

Challita said she never initially told him that he was failing to care for or neglecting his daughter.

He said concerns about his care of Nada-Jane were only raised much later, towards the end of their relationship.

Challita described life as a single father

Challita told the court that people at the school knew he was a single father trying to raise his daughter.

He said he was coping as best he could while balancing his responsibilities as a parent and his work.

He recalled struggling particularly with managing Nada-Jane’s exceptionally curly hair.

The court also heard that Challita and Hughes exchanged gifts during their relationship and that the handwritten notes he received from her were eventually discarded.

He said he initially kept the notes but later tore them up and threw them away after their relationship became increasingly conflict-ridden.

Mother-daughter relationship remained intact

Challita said that after his relationship with Johnston ended, Nada-Jane continued to have a good relationship with her mother.

He told the court that Johnston remained in contact with the child through calls and video calls and visited her.

He also confirmed that the end of his relationship with Johnston was partly connected to health issues she experienced, which led to mental health difficulties.

SMSes handed in as exhibits

Before the court breaks, Elie Challita reads bundles of SMSes exchanged between himself and Amber-Lee Hughes.

The messages are being handed to the court as exhibits as the proceedings continue.

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