Chidimma Adetshina has repeated that she was born in South Africa and says she has been “treated unfairly and targeted” as officials pursue legal action to detain and deport her.
The 25-year-old beauty pageant contestant appeared in court in Cape Town on Wednesday, where the South African government’s case was postponed until February 2027. She will remain free while a separate review of the decision to deport her is completed.
Adetshina, whose mother has Mozambican roots and whose father is Nigerian, had her South African identity and travel documents withdrawn in 2024 after questions were raised about her citizenship. The controversy emerged when she became a finalist in the 2024 Miss South Africa competition.
She later left South Africa but was arrested in June this year after being accused of returning to the country unlawfully. She was subsequently released on warning.
Speaking after Wednesday’s hearing, Adetshina said she believed the authorities were attempting to use her case as a warning to others.
“I remind everyone that I was born in South Africa. I have applied through the proper legal channels to have my status and citizenship determined,” she said.
She also said “there has been an attempt” by South African officials to make an example of her.
The contestant added: “we should not allow xenophobia and misinformation to determine how people are going to be treated”. Her comments appeared to be directed at protesters gathered outside the court and calling for her deportation.
The demonstration was organised by March and March, an anti-migrant group that has led calls for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa. Protesters followed Adetshina’s car as she departed from the courthouse.
The Department of Home Affairs argued in court that Adetshina had applied for a South African visa while she was in Nigeria. It also said she had obtained Nigerian passports for herself and her son, which officials argued indicated that she was not a South African citizen, according to reports by News24.
Officials further alleged that she had re-entered South Africa illegally through a border post in Mozambique.
Adetshina has previously maintained that South Africa is her home. She was born in Soweto, the township next to Johannesburg, and grew up in Cape Town.
At the time of the Miss South Africa controversy, she was studying law. After withdrawing from that competition because of the questions surrounding her eligibility, she was invited to compete in Miss Universe Nigeria and went on to win the title.
Her status became the subject of an investigation after critics questioned whether she could take part in the South African pageant because her mother had links to Mozambique and her father was a Nigerian citizen.
South African law does not automatically grant citizenship to everyone born in the country. At least one parent must be a South African citizen or a permanent resident for a child born there to qualify.
Adetshina’s mother, Anabela Rungo, was accused of using identity fraud to obtain South African nationality. Her South African citizenship was revoked in 2025.
Adetshina was declared a prohibited person in South Africa in 2024. The government is now seeking her detention as it continues with deportation proceedings, while her legal challenge against the Home Affairs decision remains unresolved.
