The South African Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has released preliminary findings from an investigation into the nationality of Chidimma Adetshina, a beauty queen with Nigerian heritage, who has been at the center of a controversy regarding her eligibility to compete in this year’s Miss South Africa pageant.
Chidimma, a 23-year-old model born in Soweto, South Africa, has faced scrutiny over her participation in the competition, with critics questioning her citizenship status.
Her parents, who reportedly met in Johannesburg in the late 1990s, eventually settled in the Pimville area.
The controversy gained widespread reactions on social media last month after Chidimma advanced to the pageant’s round of 16, prompting some users on X (formerly Twitter) to call for her disqualification.
On August 5, Leon Schreiber, South Africa’s Minister of Home Affairs, announced that the department had initiated an investigation into Chidimma’s citizenship following an official request from the Miss South Africa organizers.
The request included consent from both Chidimma and her mother to probe the matter.
In a statement released late Wednesday, the DHA revealed that preliminary evidence suggests Chidimma’s mother may have been involved in fraud and identity theft.
The department, however, clarified that Chidimma, who was a minor at the time of the alleged fraud in 2001, is not implicated in any wrongdoing.
It said investigations also uncovered that a South African woman, whose identity may have been stolen during this process, has faced significant hardships, including being unable to register her own child.
The DHA’s findings added a new layer of complexity to the debate surrounding Chidimma’s participation in the Miss South Africa pageant, as the public awaits further developments in the ongoing investigation.
“From the information we have uncovered thus far, the Department of Home Affairs can indicate that prima facie reasons exist to believe that fraud and identity theft may have been committed by the person recorded in Home Affairs records as Chidimma Adetshina’s mother,” it reads in part.
“Adetshina could not have participated in the alleged unlawful actions of her mother, as she was an infant at the time when the activities took place in 2001; an innocent South African mother, whose identity may have been stolen as part of the alleged fraud committed by Adetshina’s mother, suffered as a result because she could not register her child.”
“This case, which stems from alleged fraudulent activities committed 23 years ago, highlights the urgent need for the digital modernisation of Home Affairs applications, adjudication and verification processes, to insulate the Department against fraudulent interference, similar to the reforms undertaken at the South African Revenue Service in the late 2000s.
“The case also highlights the reason for the Department’s blocking of certain duplicate IDs, and that the court-ordered unblocking of these documents must be handled with caution.
“Throughout this process, Home Affairs is guided by our commitment to both restoring and upholding the rule of the law as well as the rights of all parties.”
Chidimma is one of the ten ladies scheduled to compete in the Miss South Africa grand finale in Pretoria on August 10, 2024. The victor will compete in this year’s Miss Universe contest in Mexico, representing South Africa.
