South Africa To Strip Chidimma Adetshina Of ID Documents
South Africa is stripping a would-be Miss South Africa contestant, who was at the centre of a row over her nationality, of her national identity papers, the government said.
Chidimma Adetshina, 23, pulled out of the Miss South Africa pageant in August amid allegations she was not South African, prompting an official citizenship check.
After Adetshina and her mother missed a deadline to keep them, the government announced on Tuesday that it would revoke them.
The law student was born in South Africa to a Nigerian father, but the backlash exposed anti-foreign sentiment there.
When she was announced as a Miss South Africa finalist, vicious xenophobic attacks drew her attention because of her Nigerian heritage.
Ministers were reportedly stung by the government’s claims that her mother may have snagged a South African woman’s identity.
According to Home Affairs Director General Tommy Makhode , Adetshina and her mother were given until Monday to explain to a parliamentary committee why their national identification documents should not be revoked.
According to Makhode, “the department will be removing those documents in accordance with the Identification Act,” “we have not received any responses.”
Adetshina announced at the time that she was stepping down from the South African “safety and wellbeing” competition.
She flew to Nigeria in September to compete in the Miss Universe competition after receiving a warm welcome there.
On November 16, she will represent Nigeria in the Miss Universe 2024 contest in Mexico.
Source: Channels TV
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