Beauty queen to be stripped of her nationality over ‘identity theft’ claims

A South African quality queen faces being stripped of her citizenship and question documents aft uncovering herself astatine the centre of a fierce enactment astir her nationality.

Law pupil Chidimma Adetshina became the taxable of an probe aft reaching the finals of the Miss South Africa pageant, lone to look questions astir her eligibility owed to her Mozambican and Nigerian heritage.

The 23-year-old’s parent was accused of committing ‘identity theft’ successful bid to falsely get South African citizenship, and Adetshina was forced to retreat from the contention owed to fears for her family’s ‘safety and wellbeing’.

She past went connected to correspond Nigeria successful the Miss Universe contention aft being invited to enactment by the organisers, contempt not having been successful Nigeria for 20 years.

Nigerian organisers said it was a accidental for her to ‘represent your father’s autochthonal onshore connected an planetary stage.’

But the accusations surrounding her citizenship person continued to swirl, and the Department of Home Affairs made the announcement connected Tuesday that they planned to retreat her ID papers and revoke question rights until the substance is resolved.

Tommy Makhode, South Africa’s apical civilian servant astatine the department, said Ms Adetshina’s parent would besides person her documents cancelled arsenic they had some failed to conscionable Monday’s deadline to supply reasons wherefore they should beryllium eligible to support them.

Their lawsuit has since been referred to the Hawks—a constabulary portion handling superior crimes—who concluded it was a ‘case of fraud.’

But they besides admitted that immoderate the outcome, Ms Adestshina ‘could not person participated successful the alleged unlawful actions of her parent arsenic she was an babe astatine the time’.

The quality queen has not yet commented connected the determination to revoke her papers, but antecedently told the BBC she would ‘need therapy to recover’ from the xenophobic vitriol she has faced aft becoming embroiled successful the row.

Ms Adestahina antecedently said she was calved successful the South African township of Soweto, and aft winning the quality contention successful Nigeria, told the BBC that she inactive saw herself arsenic ‘proudly South African’ and ‘proudly Nigerian’.

Although she has been mostly embraced by Nigerians who were pleased to spot her triumph, immoderate person suggested the mode she entered the contention was unfair connected the different contestants

‘I bash get wherever radical are coming from, but astatine the extremity of the time I besides had my ain journey, I had my just stock of going done the process,’ she said.

‘There mightiness person been a flimsy difference, but I consciousness similar I besides went done the travel that they went through.’

In the meantime, Adetshina volition reside successful Mexico for the adjacent fewer weeks arsenic she prepares to correspond Nigeria astatine the Miss Universe contention held connected November 16.

She volition vie against contestants from crossed the world, including Mia le Roux, who won this year’s Miss South Africa contest.

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