South African authorities have begun the deportation process of former Miss Universe Nigeria 2024, Chidimma Adetshina, after officers arrested her in Cape Town in June for allegedly residing in the country illegally.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the development plunged the 25-year-old model into fresh legal trouble barely two years after her Nigerian heritage sparked fierce public scrutiny and backlash when she entered the Miss South Africa 2024 pageant.
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Ms Adetshina, who was born in Soweto to a Nigerian Igbo father and a Mozambican mother, had advanced to the Top 30 of the Miss SA competition before the backlash intensified.
Miss Universe Nigeria organisers subsequently invited her to represent Taraba State, and she went on to win the title and fly Nigeria’s flag at the Miss Universe 2024 pageant in Mexico.
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Her immigration status in South Africa had remained largely unclear until 9 June, when she appeared before the Cape Town Regional Court following her arrest in Summer Greens, Sunday World, a newspaper in the country, reported.
The court released her on a warning, and she is due to return in July as the Department of Home Affairs presses ahead with deportation proceedings.
Court paper
According to court documents submitted by immigration officer Adrian Jackson, the Department of Home Affairs’ Central Law Enforcement Unit traced her whereabouts. It is alleged that she and her minor son were residing in South Africa without a valid immigration status.
Mr Jackson stated that he was already familiar with Adetshina through an earlier investigation.
The affidavit stated that immigration officials cross-checked Ms Adetshina’s personal information using the department’s electronic database before interviewing her as part of efforts to establish her immigration status.
“In this affidavit, I shall now motivate reasons for deeming it to be in the interest of justice to detain this person for deportation to the country of origin. ” After the above ‘status determination’ interview and the DHA residency IT systems checks.
“It was confirmed that the applicant does not hold any lawful RSA residential status and is thus an illegal foreigner. It is my submission that the illegal foreigner willfully and intentionally remained resident unlawfully in RSA in contravention of the Immigration Act 13 of 2022,” Mr Jackson’s affidavit reads.
Illegal foreigners
Mr Jackson urged the court to approve the continued detention of what he described as an illegal foreign national to enable the Department of Home Affairs to carry out its statutory responsibility of deporting individuals found to be unlawfully residing in South Africa.
The latest legal action stems from an earlier ruling by the Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, who in March rejected Ms Adetshina’s request for a review of the department’s decision to deny her and her son’s application for a letter of good cause.
By dismissing the application, the minister reaffirmed the department’s original position.
In his written submission, Mr Schreiber stated that Ms Adetshina had been notified in September 2024 of the department’s intention to revoke both her South African identity documents and those of her son.
He further explained that Ms Adetshina obtained a Nigerian passport while in Nigeria before subsequently applying for a South African visitor’s visa.
“The department notified you of its intention in September 2024, and you failed to respond. On 20 September 2024, you were issued a Nigerian passport number whilst in Nigeria. You then applied for a South African visitor’s visa, but your application was rejected because you submitted a fraudulent bank statement. You did not appeal the rejection”, he said.
Prohibited person
Mr Schreiber stated that Adetshina was later declared a prohibited person on 19 December 2024.
He further alleged that she subsequently re-entered South Africa through the Lebombo border post from Mozambique, presenting herself as a South African citizen.
He noted, “In terms of the Immigration Act, a prohibited person does not qualify for any visa or permit to remain in the Republic. You re-entered South Africa through Mozambique, at the Lebombo border post, on 15 June 2024, presenting yourself as a South African citizen using passport number and then applied for a letter of good cause, of which you failed the good cause test as stipulated in the Immigration Regulation 30(1).”
Immigration
The minister likewise rejected the immigration request filed in respect of Ms Adetshina’s son.
“As the application for the minor child was submitted as a dependency on that of the primary applicant, his legal status is inextricably linked to hers.
“Given the rejection of the primary applicant’s request due to her prohibited status and the submission of fraudulent documentation, the minor child possesses no independent basis to remain in the Republic”, Mr Schreiber said.
READ ALSO: Court relaxes bail conditions for Miss Universe Nigeria, Chidimma Adetshina’s mother
Following her initial appearance in court, the Cape Town Regional Court granted Adetshina release on warning and adjourned the case to 16 July.
As part of her bail conditions, she was directed to remain at the address where she was arrested and to inform the investigating immigration officer of any changes to her residence, employment status, or movement while the case remains ongoing.
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