‘I was born in South Africa’, says beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina facing legal bid to deport her

Chidimma Adetshina, a beauty queen currently battling deportation from South Africa, has maintained that she was born within the country's borders and feels treated unfairly. Authorities wish to detain her as they proceed with her deportation, following her 2024 designation as a prohibited person. Adetshina, 25, whose maternal lineage traces back to Mozambique and paternal roots to Nigeria, lost her identification documents after citizenship concerns arose during her participation in the 2024 Miss South Africa contest.

She subsequently left the nation. She was apprehended in June this year, released on a caution, and accused of unlawfully re-entering South Africa. The government's legal bid to detain her was delayed until next year. At a hearing in Cape Town, Adetshina stated that authorities have attempted to make her an example. She reiterated her birth in South Africa and her efforts to have her status and citizenship determined through proper legal channels.

Meanwhile, the protesters outside the court, led by the anti-migrant group March and March, chased after her car as she departed from the courthouse. In court, South Africa's Home Affairs Department contended that she had applied for a South African visa while residing in Nigeria and held Nigerian passports for herself and her son, suggesting she was not a South African citizen.

Officials further alleged that she returned to South Africa illegally via a Mozambican border post. Adetshina contended that her residence had been in South Africa. Her case was postponed until February 2027 to finalize her challenge against home affairs' deportation decision. She remains free until this is settled. Being born in South Africa does not automatically confer citizenship; one parent must either be a citizen or permanent resident for that to occur.

Rungo, Adetshina's mother, had her South African citizenship revoked in 2025. The investigation into Adetshina's status followed her emergence as a Miss South Africa pageant finalist, with critics questioning her eligibility due to her parents' diverse nationalities. Adetshina later withdrew from the contest following revelations about her citizenship status.

In interviews, she asserted that she was born in Soweto, the South African township adjacent to Johannesburg, and spent her upbringing in Cape Town.