Beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina, who is facing deportation from South Africa, has said she was born in the country and believes she has been “treated unfairly and targeted”.
South African authorities are seeking her detention as they continue proceedings to deport her after she was declared a prohibited person in 2024.
Adetshina, 25, has a Nigerian father and a mother with Mozambican roots. Her South African identity documents were withdrawn after questions were raised about her citizenship while she was competing in the 2024 Miss South Africa pageant.
She subsequently left the country but was arrested in June this year after allegedly re-entering South Africa unlawfully. She was later released on warning.
The government’s legal bid to have her detained 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 the proper legal channels to have my status and citizenship determined,” she said.
The beauty queen also said “we should not allow xenophobia and misinformation to determine how people are going to be treated”, apparently referring to protesters who gathered outside the court to demand her deportation.
The demonstration was organised by anti-migrant group March and March, which has campaigned for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa. Some protesters chased after Adetshina’s car as she departed the courthouse.
Adetshina, who was studying law at the time, left South Africa in 2024 and later 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 home affairs department argued that Adetshina had applied for a South African visa while she was in Nigeria and had obtained Nigerian passports for herself and her son, according to reports by News24.
Adetshina has maintained that South Africa was her home.
Her case was adjourned until February 2027 to allow the finalisation of her legal challenge against the Home Affairs Department’s decision to deport her. She remains free while the review process continues.
Her South African identity and travel documents were withdrawn in 2024 following allegations that her mother, Anabela Rungo, had committed identity fraud to obtain South African nationality.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 her eligibility because of her mother’s Mozambican background and her father’s Nigerian citizenship.
She eventually withdrew from the competition after the controversy surrounding her nationality intensified.
In previous interviews, Adetshina has said she was born in Soweto, a township near Johannesburg, and grew up in Cape Town.
