The South African government has moved to cancel the citizenship of Miss Universe Nigeria 2024 winner, Chidimma Adetshina, following a controversy surrounding her South African nationality.
Adetshina, 23, withdrew from the Miss South Africa pageant in August after facing a wave of abuse and scrutiny over her nationality, which led to an official investigation into her and her mother’s citizenship status.
The controversy began as the law student, born in South Africa to a Nigerian father, faced xenophobic backlash for her Nigerian heritage after being announced as a finalist in the Miss South Africa competition.
The government intervened, citing a claim that her mother might have assumed the identity of a South African woman.
Home Affairs Director General Tommy Makhode reported to a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that Adetshina and her mother had missed the deadline to provide justification for retaining their South African identification documents, leading to the decision to cancel them.
Adetshina, citing concern for her family’s safety, withdrew from the competition and left for Nigeria, where she was warmly welcomed and went on to win the Miss Universe Nigeria title. She is set to represent Nigeria at the upcoming Miss Universe 2024 competition in Mexico on November 16.
The incident has highlighted simmering anti-foreign sentiment in South Africa and underscored the longstanding rivalry between South Africa and Nigeria, which often extends beyond politics to cultural and economic spheres.