Citizen issues, specifically about beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina as a law student whose matters brought her in the heady headlines recently for national embarrassment, got an affirmation through South Africa Department of Home Affairs which report revealed cancelled the girl’s identity on claims that one’s mum fraudulently took these documents for acquisition of identity of a SA national at the parliament’s committee level Tuesday.
The controversy over the country of origin increased with news that Ms. Adetshina was going to be a finalist for Miss South Africa, creating discussions on her eligibility to contest the pageant. Questioned were her roots being Mozambican via the mother and Nigerian via the father. At this time of public backlash,
Ms. Adetshina had resigned from the pageant on August 20 after allegations hit the media that her mother might have engaged in “identity theft” to gain South African citizenship. Amidst all this, something totally new happened to Ms. Adetshina when she was invited to the Miss Universe Nigeria, where she won the contest.
The head of the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa, Mr. Tommy Makhode, released that by Monday, the mother, Ms. Adetshina, and her child did not respond to an ultimatum set over the deadline to explain her reasons as to why she was supposed to maintain her South African citizenship. The Department moved the case to the Hawks, an elite South African police department specializing in “serious crime” that made it fall under the title of fraud. Prosecutors will have to decide upon further procedures.
The recently confirmed Nigerian, although born in Soweto, South Africa, said she was “proudly South African” and “proudly Nigerian,” as she continues to face xenophobic reactions over the recently discovered disputed nationality. She recently spoke to the VOP, indicating that she would seek therapy to overcome the hate being hurled at her.
She is based in Mexico at the moment, preparing to represent Nigeria at the forthcoming Miss Universe event on 16 November. She will be among the competitors worldwide. Among them is Mia le Roux, who is the current Miss South Africa. Neither Ms. Adetshina nor her mother have so far reacted to the cancellation of her South African documents recently.
