South Africa investigates Chidimma Adetsina’s eligibility to compete in beauty pageant
The South African Ministry of Home Affairs says it has launched an investigation to determine the nationality of Chidimma Adetshina, the model of Nigerian descent.
Chidimma faced controversy last week regarding her eligibility to compete in the Miss South Africa competition.
The 23-year-old Chidimma was born in Soweto, South Africa, to a mother from Mozambique (Zulu) and a father from Nigeria (Igbo). Before relocating to Pimville, her parents are claimed to have first met in Johannesburg in the late 1990s.
After she advanced to the round of 16, last month, the question over her nationality quickly gained pace on social media platforms.
Some X users demanded that she be disqualified for her participation in the competition, drawing harsh criticism to her involvement.
The nation’s minister of sports, arts, and culture, Gayton McKenzie, called the current state of affairs “giving funny vibes already.”
The deputy minister of home affairs for South Africa, Njabulo Nzuza, also provided clarification on the country’s citizenship laws.
However, South African Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber recently stated in a statement on X that the department has received a formal request from Miss SA organisers to find out Chidimma’s citizenship.
According to Schreiber, the contestant’s consent was included in the request.
The minister added that “working to verify and compile the required information” is what the government parastatal is doing and that it will be made available to the public.
“Any transgressions, they will be handled in strict accordance to the law,” he continued.
“The Department of Home Affairs yesterday received an official request from the organisers of Miss SA to enquire into the citizenship of a contestant in an upcoming event. The request included consent from the affected individuals,” the statement reads in part.
“On the basis of this voluntarily request and the required consent, we are working to verify and compile the required information. Prior to this request, the Department had not received any complaint about the matter.
“In all that we do, we are guided by the rule of law. If transgressions are found in this case, they will be handled in strict accordance with legal prescripts. If not, we will accordingly inform the requesters. We will also keep the public informed on the outcome of the assessment.”
See post below:
The Department of Home Affairs yesterday received an official request from the organisers of Miss SA to enquire into the citizenship of a contestant in an upcoming event. The request included consent from the affected individuals.
On the basis of this voluntarily request and…
— Leon Schreiber (@Leon_Schreib) August 6, 2024
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