South African pageantry: Chidimma gets backing despite alleged parental fraud

Nigerians living in South Africa have expressed the need for a comprehensive investigation of Chidimma Adetshina's contentious parental history, which she disclosed when she withdrew from a beauty pageant.

Adetshina, 23, withdrew from the Miss South Africa Beauty Pageant 2024, citing her ineligibility due to comments from South Africans. Her withdrawal was prompted by material that was posted on the organization's website, according to which she was born in South Africa to a Mozambican mother and a Nigerian father. Her status as a naturalized South African was also confirmed by the organizers. But in a statement released recently, the South African Department of Home Affairs asserted that Adetshina's mother might have committed fraud.

"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,” the statement read.

Adetshina was compelled to pull out of the match scheduled for this Saturday at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria. Mrs. Doris Ikeri-Solarin, the president of the Nigerian Union in South Africa, said that the occurrence was "unfortunate" and the result of "discrimination."

“It is very unfortunate that this young, beautiful, and intelligent lady is made to face this level of discrimination. The investigation is yet to be concluded; I’m not sure she should be made to suffer the consequences. Let’s wait for the outcome,” Ikeri-Solarin said.

“The Immigration lawyer who was interviewed explained the different ways of acquiring citizenship in South Africa, which is not limited to one. This needs to be thoroughly reviewed. Under what circumstance did Chidinma (Adetshina) acquire hers? Is her father legit and papers in order? If so, let’s look at options.”

Similarly, Adetshina shouldn't be held accountable for her parents' purported mistakes, according to Johannesburg-based Nigerian attorney Austin Okeke. "Her mother's illegality has no bearing whatsoever on her citizenship status," he declared. She withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition as a direct result of the escalating animosity directed towards her. The amount of hatred must have terrified and traumatized her, which would have made it impossible for her to remain calm and confident and compete.

When asked if the 23-year-old was safe in South Africa, Ikeri-Solarin responded, "Even though her story and personality stirred up the social media space globally, I do not think she's at risk of experiencing xenophobic attacks."