Miss SA: South Africa Ministry of Home Affairs probes Chidinma Adetshina’s eligibility

The South African Government has launched a probe into the citizenship status and eligibility of Chidinma Adetshina, a finalist in the 2024 Miss South Africa pageant scheduled for Saturday at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria.

South Africa’s Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, disclosed this in a statement shared on his X page Tuesday.

Ms Adetshina was born in South Africa to a Nigerian father and a Mozambique mother, who is now a naturalised South African.

According to the South African Citizenship Act, an individual automatically qualifies for citizenship if they are born in South Africa, if at least one of their parents is a South African citizen, or if a South African permanent residency permit holder or a South African citizen adopts them.

This Act provides the legal basis for Ms Adetshina’s South African citizenship as she is a dual citizen of South Africa and Nigeria.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the controversy surrounding Ms Adetshina’s eligibility to contest for Miss South Africa began shortly after she entered the beauty pageant.

The 23-year-old emerged as a central figure in the country’s xenophobia debate and discussions on national identity after advancing to the Top 30 and becoming a finalist in the Miss SA competition.

However, the criticisms intensified on Monday when South Africans unearthed her marriage video, which South Africans deemed violated the competition’s guidelines.

The criticism of the wedding video was that a married, divorced woman or a nursing mother is not eligible to contest for Miss South Africa. However, guidelines provided by the Miss South Africa organisation website revealed that being married, divorced, or a mother does not disqualify contestants from entering the Miss South Africa pageant.

U-Turn

Despite several criticisms and calls for her disqualification, the Miss South Africa organisation’s website maintains stringent citizenship and ethical conduct criteria. Surprisingly, the body initially supported the model.

In a statement to The South African newspapers, the organisation confirmed that Ms Adetshina met all the requirements to participate in the pageant.

They noted that citizenship, irrespective of origin, is the primary requirement, aligning with the revised South African Citizenship Act, which recognises birth, descent, and naturalisation as valid pathways to citizenship.

However, Mr Schreiber’s statement proves otherwise after all.

His statement partly read: “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 voluntary request and the required consent, we are working to verify and compile the required information. Before this request, the Department had not received any complaint about the matter.”

Additionally, the minister stated that the ministry is committed to the Rule of Law and is currently investigating the matter.

He emphasised that any violations discovered during the investigation would be addressed strictly according to legal guidelines.

“If not, we will inform the requesters accordingly and keep the public informed on the assessment’s outcome. Cleaning up Home Affairs to enable it to play its rightful role in national security and economic growth is an enormous task requiring collaboration with the public.

“I urge anyone with evidence of malfeasance to contact our dedicated Counter-Corruption Unit. Evidence-based decisions, anchored in the rule of law, is how we defeat corruption and rebuild South Africa”, said the minister.

South Africa’s Arts and Culture Minister too

Similarly, in an interview with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), South Africa’s Arts and Culture Minister, Gayton McKenzie, Mr McKenzie requested that Ms Adetshina provide documentation to confirm her South African citizenship.

Mr McKenzie, the President of South Africa’s anti-immigrant political party, Patriotic Alliance, who led a crusade against “illegal foreigners” in the country, including Nigerians, in January 2022, said, “Why can’t she just produce (documents) and say she’s South African? Beautiful South African young ladies might be robbed of this opportunity.”

The Miss South Africa 2024 competition winner will succeed Natasha Joubert of Gauteng, the 2023 titleholder, and represent South Africa at the Miss Universe 2024 pageant in Mexico.