Beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina is set to be stripped of her South African identity and travel documents amidst a heated nationality dispute.
The decision comes after the Department of Home Affairs initiated an investigation into Adetshina’s eligibility to compete in the Miss South Africa pageant, raising questions due to her parents’ nationalities—her mother hailing from Mozambique and her father from Nigeria.
The situation escalated in August when Adetshina withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition following accusations that her mother may have committed “identity theft” to obtain South African nationality.
This controversy led to widespread xenophobic backlash, prompting Adetshina to share with the BBC that she required therapy to cope with the intense scrutiny and vitriol directed at her.
In a stunning turn of events, at a recent parliamentary committee meeting, SA’s Department of Home Affairs civil servant Tommy Makhode announced that both Adetshina and her mother would have their identity documents revoked after failing to meet a deadline to justify their status.
The case has been referred to the Hawks, a specialized police unit, which classified it as “a case of fraud.”
Despite the upheaval, Adetshina has remained resilient.
She recently won the title of Miss Universe Nigeria and is now preparing to represent her home country at the Miss Universe competition scheduled for Nov. 16 in Mexico.
During her time in Nigeria, she expressed her pride in both her South African and Nigerian heritage, asserting:
“I see myself as proudly South African and proudly Nigerian.”
Adetshina’s journey continues to unfold as she competes against contestants from around the globe, including this year’s Miss South Africa, Mia le Roux.
As the beauty queen navigates the complexities of identity and nationality, her story has sparked conversations around nationality, identity, and the impact of systemic issues on personal lives.
