Convicted child killer Amber-Lee Hughes faces intense scrutiny in court

On a day that should have marked a celebration, Amber-Lee Hughes spent her 27th birthday inside the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, enduring rigorous cross-examination from State Prosecutor Rolene Barnard.

This was the fourth day of Hughes' pre-sentencing proceedings, and her second day on the stand,  in a shocking case involving the murder of four-year-old Nada-Jane Challita, who was in her care when she met her tragic end in January 2023.

The day's proceedings were centred on a series of text messages sent between Hughes and Ellie Challita during their tumultuous relationship, including claims about the welfare and schooling of Nada-Jane.

Even though her text messages were those of a loving and supportive girlfriend to the single father, Barnard quizzed Hughes over her testimony, which suggests that Ellie was a negligent father, who did not take care of his daughter.

When pressed to reconcile the two contrasting versions of her testimony, Hughes accused Ellie of being far from the perfect father she had supported, saying she did this to save her relationship with him.

"I put it to you that you complemented Mr Challita numerous times in the text messages before the court, but here in court, you seem to suggest that he was not a good father."

Barnard questioned Hughes about whether her actions were truly in the child’s best interests, as she had suggested, or whether they were merely aimed at attracting the attention of her father.

"'If she asks my assistant and me, we will have nothing but positive things to say about you, my love heart emoji.' Do you agree with that? Do you still stand by that?" Barnard asked while reading out text messages between Hughes and Ellie

Responding to the barrage of questions from the Barnard, Hughes stated: "I only complimented him because he was by himself as a single father, even though he was not doing a good job of it. I am stating the facts because several times, social workers from the child welfare services took Nada-Jane out of school," she told the court on Thursday.

Hughes further testified that she believed she had sacrificed everything for Challita and his daughter, adding that the child would have been left without a mother figure and potentially neglected in her father’s care

Even though she had previously admitted to the crime, Hughes told the court she believed she was "saving" the child from her father's consistent and considered taking her own life.

She asserted that her actions were driven by a desperate desire to protect her child from an abusive father.

On Wednesday, Hughes revealed struggles with bipolar disorder and depression, and said she had sometimes stopped medication due to financial problems.

Hughes is expected to face further questioning from her lawyers on Friday.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za