South Africa Seeks To Revoke Identity And Travel Documents Of Miss Universe Nigeria, Chidimma Adetshina

Miss Universe Nigeria, Chidimma Adetshina, embroiled in a heated nationality dispute, is set to lose her South African identity and travel documents.

The Department of Home Affairs launched an investigation into her citizenship after she reached the finals in the 2024 Miss South Africa pageant.

Her eligibility was challenged, as critics raised concerns about her mother’s Mozambican origins and her father’s Nigerian heritage.

Chidimma Adetshina withdrew from the competition in August following revelations by the department that her mother may have committed “identity theft” to gain South African citizenship.

Despite the setback, Adetshina, who is studying law, won the 2024 Miss Universe Nigeria after an invitation from the organizers.

The controversy surrounding her identity led to a xenophobic backlash in South Africa, prompting Adetshina to tell the BBC she may need therapy to recover from the experience.

The Department of Home Affairs disclosed to a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that it would be revoking the beauty queen’s ID papers.

According to Tommy Makhode, the department’s director-general, Adetshina, and her mother missed a deadline to justify why they should retain their documents.

The revocation decision has since been referred to the Hawks, a police unit that handles serious crimes, which labeled the case as “fraud” and officials are now awaiting further instructions from prosecutors.

Following the initial announcement in August, the department clarified that Adetshina “could not have participated in the alleged unlawful actions of her mother as she was an infant at the time”.

Chidimma Adetshina has previously stated she was born in Soweto, South Africa.

After winning Miss Universe Nigeria, Adetshina told the BBC that she considers herself both “proudly South African” and “proudly Nigerian.”

She recently arrived in Mexico to represent Nigeria at the Miss Universe competition, scheduled for November 16, where she will compete alongside global contestants, including Mia le Roux, this year’s Miss South Africa winner.

KanyiDaily recalls that Chidimma Adetshina described her experience at the South Africa pageant as “horrible and heartbreaking”, stressing that she wasn’t accepted by some South Africans because of her Igbo name.