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| Chidimma Adetshina |
Chidimma Adetshina, 25 and a former Miss Universe Nigeria, was arrested in Cape Town earlier this month on allegations of living in South Africa without proper immigration status.
She appeared before the Cape Town regional court on June 9 after being detained in the Summer Greens area.
Adetshina was released on warning and is due back in court next month as the Department of Home Affairs moves to begin deportation proceedings.
The beauty queen has been entangled in a citizenship dispute since her participation in the Miss South Africa 2024 pageant, where her nationality sparked public debate.
She later withdrew from the competition, citing safety concerns for herself and her family.
However, Silverbird Group, organisers of Miss Universe Nigeria, invited her to participate, and she was crowned the pageant’s winner.
Adetshina represented Nigeria at the Miss Universe pageant and was crowned the first runner-up, making history as the first Nigerian woman to take the second spot.
Born in Soweto to a Nigerian father of Igbo descent and a Mozambican mother, Adetshina’s legal status in South Africa has remained unclear. Her parents reportedly met in Johannesburg in the late 1990s and settled in Pimville.
In an affidavit, immigration officer Adrian Jackson stated that authorities had previously investigated Adetshina and confirmed through electronic systems and an interview that she and her minor son were residing in the country without lawful status.
“In this affidavit, I shall now motivate reasons for deeming it to be in the interest of justice to detain this person for deportation to the country of origin.” After the above ‘status determination’ interview and the DHA residency IT systems checks,” Jackson’s affidavit reads.
“It was confirmed that the applicant does not hold any lawful RSA residential status and is thus an illegal foreigner. It is my submission that the illegal foreigner willfully and intentionally remained resident unlawfully in RSA in contravention of the Immigration Act 13 of 2022.”
The latest proceedings follow an earlier decision by Leon Schreiber, South African Home Affairs minister, who in March dismissed Adetshina’s application to review the department’s refusal of her request for a letter of good cause.
According to the minister, Adetshina had been informed in September 2024 that the department intended to cancel both her and her son’s South African identity documents but failed to respond.
Schreiber also alleged that she obtained a Nigerian passport while in Nigeria before applying for a South African visitor’s visa, which was rejected after authorities claimed she submitted a fraudulent bank statement.
The minister further said Adetshina was declared a prohibited person on December 19, 2024, making her ineligible for any visa or permit to remain in South Africa.
Schreiber also alleged that she later re-entered South Africa through the Lebombo border from Mozambique while presenting herself as a South African citizen before seeking further immigration relief.
He added that her son’s immigration application was also rejected because it depended on hers and the child had no independent legal basis to remain in the country.
Following her court appearance, the court ordered Adetshina to remain at the address where she was arrested and notify investigating immigration officers of any changes to her residence, employment or movements pending the next hearing.
~Courtesy TheCable
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