The father of four-year-old Nada-Jane Therèse Challita says his life has been on hold since the murder of his child and arrest of his former girlfriend for the crime and he is struggling to cope with the lengthy trial.
On Thursday, when judgment was due to be handed down by the Johannesburg high court, Amber Hughes announced she had fired her lawyer and hired a new legal team, triggering a postponement.
The new lawyers were directed by the court to use Thursday and Friday to consult and take instructions from their client.
“In the event that the new legal team's instructions are that the defence's case should be reopened, the new legal team is directed to file a comprehensive application on or before Thursday, July 24, not later than 3pm. In that event, the prosecution must be ready to indicate to the court on Thursday as to whether it is opposing any such application that would have been filed by the new defence team,” Judge Richard Mkhabela ordered.
Hughes and her legal team were advised by the judge to take into account that the “interest of justice cries out loud for the finalisation of this matter, given the previous delays”.
Elie Challita, for whom Nada-Jane had meant “everything in the world”, is upset by the number of adjournments in the case which are denying him closure.
“My life has been on hold. Everything is on hold until this thing finishes. Only then can I look forward, only then can I look after myself, only then can I look at anything else. Until then, nothing is on my mind. There is nothing I want to do, nothing I want to think about, except this thing,” he told TimesLIVE.
It was “horrible” going to court and reliving the thoughts and emotions of the day his daughter was murdered on January 23 2023. She was sexually abused and drowned in the bath at their Mulbarton home.
Challita and Hughes met because she was an assistant teacher at the creche his daughter attended. They began dating but their relationship was volatile and marred by break-ups. On the day of the murder, he was out of town on a work trip and had left his daughter in her care.
He said the drawn-out trial, stretching over more than two years from the first appearance in the magistrate's court, was painful.
“I realise I can't expect results every time I come to court, but I expect progress at least. And we've only been getting progress maybe once every six or seven times we come to court. Then there is a delay.”
Hughes has pleaded not guilty to rape and murder.
TimesLIVE
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