As beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina arrives in Mexico to represent Nigeria at the Miss Universe pageant, South African authorities have announced plans to strip her of her South African citizenship and identity documents.
The announcement comes as Adetshina prepares to compete against contestants from around the world, including South Africa’s Mia le Roux, at the November 16 pageant.
The Department of Home Affairs revealed its decision to a parliamentary committee on Tuesday after Adetshina and her mother reportedly missed a deadline to prove their eligibility for South African documentation.
The department’s senior official, Tommy Makhode, confirmed that the case has been referred to the Hawks special police unit as “a case of fraud.”
The controversy first erupted when Adetshina, a law student born in Soweto, reached the Miss South Africa finals. Her eligibility was questioned due to her Nigerian father and mother’s Mozambican heritage, leading to her withdrawal from the competition in August amid accusations that her mother had committed “identity theft” to obtain South African nationality.
In a dramatic turn of events, Adetshina went on to win Miss Universe Nigeria after being invited to compete by the organisers. Speaking after her victory, she maintained that she identifies as “proudly South African” and “proudly Nigerian.”
The identity dispute sparked xenophobic reactions in South Africa, with Adetshina saying that she would need therapy to recover from the experience.
The Home Affairs department had previously noted that Adetshina “could not have participated in the alleged unlawful actions of her mother as she was an infant at the time.”
Neither Adetshina nor her mother have commented on the latest developments regarding their documentation.
Cover image: BBC
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