Beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina, who faces deportation from South Africa, has said she was born in the country and believes she has been “unfairly treated and attacked”.
South African authorities are seeking her arrest while proceedings continue to deport her after she was declared a prohibited person in 2024.
Adetshina, 25, has a Nigerian father and a mother of Mozambican roots. Her South African identity cards were withdrawn after questions were raised about her citizenship while she was competing in the Miss South Africa 2024 pageant.
She subsequently left the country but was arrested in June this year after allegedly re-entering South Africa illegally. She was later released on warning.
The government’s legal attempt to stop her was postponed until next year following a hearing in Cape Town on Wednesday.
Speaking after the hearing, Adetshina said “there has been an attempt” by South African authorities to make an example of her through the case.
“I remind everyone that I was born in South Africa. I have applied through appropriate legal channels to have my status and citizenship determined,” he said.
The beauty queen also said that “we must not allow xenophobia and misinformation to determine how people are going to be treated,” apparently referring to protesters who gathered outside the courthouse to demand her deportation.
The rally was organized by the anti-immigrant group March and March, which has campaigned for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa. Some protesters chased Adetshina’s car as it left the courthouse.
Adetshina, who was studying law at the time, left South Africa in 2024 and subsequently competed in Miss Universe Nigeria after being invited by the organisers. She went on to win the title.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs argued that Adetshina had applied for a South African visa while in Nigeria and had obtained Nigerian passports for herself and her son, according to News24 reports.
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Adetshina has maintained that South Africa was her home.
Her case was adjourned until February 2027 to allow the completion of her legal challenge against the Department of Home Affairs’ decision to deport her. She remains free while the review process continues.
His South African identity and travel documents were withdrawn in 2024 following allegations that his mother, Anabela Rungo, had committed identity fraud to obtain South African nationality.
The investigation into Adetshina’s citizenship began after she became a finalist in the Miss South Africa pageant. Questions were raised about his eligibility due to his mother’s Mozambican background and his father’s Nigerian citizenship.
He eventually withdrew from the competition after controversy surrounding his nationality intensified.
In previous interviews, Adetshina said she was born in Soweto, a township near Johannesburg, and grew up in Cape Town.
(BBC News)
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