'I was born in South Africa', says beauty queen facing legal bid to deport her
Beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina speaks out against unfair treatment and xenophobia as a South African court postpones her deportation detention hearing to 2027.
Chidimma Adetshina, a beauty queen currently facing deportation from South Africa, maintains that she was born in the country and feels she has been unfairly targeted. South African officials aim to detain her following her designation as a prohibited person in 2024. Adetshina, 25, has Mozambican roots through her mother and Nigerian ancestry from her father.
After participating in the 2024 Miss South Africa contest, her citizenship was questioned, leading to the stripping of her identity documents and her departure from the country. She was arrested in June but released on warning after being accused of illegally re-entering South Africa. The government's legal case to detain her has been postponed until next year.
Adetshina emphasized that authorities seem to be setting an example with her case and urged against allowing xenophobia and misinformation to dictate treatment. She is currently a law student at the University of Cape Town and previously won Miss Universe Nigeria after moving to the country in 2024. South African officials contend she applied for a South African visa while in Nigeria and later returned via a Mozambican border post, which Adetshina disputes, claiming her home was in South Africa.
Her case has been postponed to February 2027 for a final review of her challenge to the home affairs' deportation decision.
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