Chidimma Adetshina, former Miss Universe Nigeria, appeared before a South African court on Thursday as legal proceedings seeking her deportation resumed.
The 25-year-old beauty queen has been facing renewed efforts by the Department of Home Affairs to deport her since she was arrested in Cape Town in June over allegations that she was residing in South Africa unlawfully.
At Thursday’s hearing before the Cape Town Regional Court, Adetshina filed an affidavit detailing the measures she has taken to regularise her immigration status in a bid to stop her deportation.
The matter was adjourned until Monday, when the state is expected to file its response through affidavits.
Adetshina has been embroiled in a citizenship controversy since competing in the 2024 Miss South Africa pageant, where questions surrounding her nationality triggered widespread public debate.
She eventually withdrew from the contest, citing concerns over the safety of herself and her family.
Later that year, the Silverbird Group, organisers of Miss Universe Nigeria, invited her to participate in its pageant, which she went on to win.
Adetshina subsequently represented Nigeria at the Miss Universe competition, where she finished as the first runner-up, becoming the first Nigerian to achieve the milestone.
Born in Soweto to a Nigerian father of Igbo descent and a Mozambican mother, Adetshina’s citizenship has remained the subject of legal and public scrutiny in South Africa. 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.
