Miss Universe Model Loses S.African Citizenship Amid Nationality Row

Chidimma Adetshina, the Miss Universe Nigeria 2024 and Miss South Africa finalist will allegedly be revoked of her South African citizenship due to a dual nationality controversy. The 23-year-old model was born and raised in Soweto, South Africa, while her father is an Igbo from Nigeria and her mother, a South African naturalised citizen, is from Mozambique. The South African Department of Home Affairs is reportedly confiscating the beauty queen's identity and travel documents, a report in BBC stated. 

Adetshina has allegedly been enduring severe xenophobic discrimination since she was chosen as a Miss South Africa finalist in July 2024. She withdrew from the competition in August after the Home Affairs department announced that her mother might have committed "identity theft" to become a South African national.

Citizenship Dispute

On October 29, South Africa's Department of Home Affairs announced the withdrawal of Adetshina's ID papers to a parliamentary committee. The model's mother would also reportedly have her documents cancelled as they both reportedly failed to meet the deadline to provide reasons why they should be eligible to keep them.

Tommy Makhode, the department's top civil servant, said that Adetshina's case had been referred to the Hawks, a special police unit that investigates serious crimes, which concluded that it was a "case of fraud". The beauty queen had just arrived in Mexico to compete in the Miss Universe competition starting November 16.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Chidimma Adetshina (@chichi_vanessa)

Controversy Begins From Beauty Pageant

In July, amid criticism of her national identity, Adetshina was forced to discuss details about her birthplace and upbringing to convince the critics that she is South African. In an interview with Sowetan SMag, she said that her Nigerian heritage has led to many challenges in representing South Africa at the pageant.

“My dad is a proud Nigerian, and my mother was born and raised in South Africa but had Mozambique roots. My mom’s family still lives in Soweto, and I visit them occasionally.” Adetshina detailed. Despite being a South African citizen, she expressed that she often faces discrimination due to her bloodline.

Adetshina is facing what many critics call 'black-on-black' hate, which is reportedly a pervasive issue in South Africa. “At first I ignored it but as I progressed in the competition the criticism started growing. I thought to myself, I am representing a country but I don’t feel the love from the people I’m representing," she said.

The model even questioned if contesting after the backlash would be worth it. “I’m not the only one in this competition who has a surname that’s not South African. I feel the attention is on me because of my skin colour, which I think is a disadvantage. It’s also been something I had to overcome growing up."

The Miss South Africa pageant's official website states the eligibility criteria for contestants. It reads "Miss South Africa entrants must be South African citizens and in possession of a valid South African ID or passport. If an applicant holds dual citizenship, they must provide details of both on the entry form."

Adetshina is a 23-year-old model from Soweto, Gauteng. She is also a Bachelor of Law student at Varsity College. She is also passionate about sports and plays netball, balancing her modelling career, sports, and academics. Adetshina is also an advocate against gender-based violence and works for women's and children's rights.