Key facts
- Beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina is challenging a deportation order from South Africa.
- Adetshina claims she was born in South Africa and has been unfairly targeted.
- Her South African identity documents were revoked in 2024.
- The legal case seeking her detention has been postponed until February 2027.
- Protesters gathered outside the court demanding her deportation.
Beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina, who is facing deportation from South Africa, has stated that she was born in the country and feels she has been unfairly targeted. South African officials are pursuing her detention and deportation after she was declared a prohibited person in 2024. Adetshina, whose mother is of Mozambican descent and father is Nigerian, had her South African identity documents revoked after questions were raised about her citizenship during her participation in the 2024 Miss South Africa contest, leading her to leave the country. She was later arrested in June for allegedly re-entering South Africa unlawfully. On Wednesday, the government's legal bid to detain her was postponed until February 2027. Adetshina stated that authorities are attempting to make an example of her and reminded them she was born in South Africa, having applied through legal channels for her status to be determined. She also suggested that xenophobia and misinformation were influencing how people were being treated, referencing protesters outside the court who called for her deportation. Adetshina, who was a law student, had previously left South Africa in 2024 and subsequently won Miss Universe Nigeria. The home affairs department argued in court that she applied for a South African visa while in Nigeria and used Nigerian passports for herself and her son, implying she was not a South African citizen. Officials stated she returned to South Africa illegally via a Mozambican border post. Adetshina has previously maintained that South Africa is her home. Her case was adjourned to allow for the finalization of her review challenging the home affairs department's decision to deport her. She remains free until this process is complete. Her South African identity and travel documents were revoked in 2024 following allegations of identity fraud by her mother, Anabela Rungo, to obtain South African nationality. Being born in South Africa does not automatically confer citizenship; one parent must be a citizen or permanent resident. Rungo's South African citizenship was revoked in 2025. The investigation into Adetshina's status began after she became a finalist in the Miss South Africa pageant, drawing criticism regarding her eligibility due to her parents' nationalities. She withdrew from the pageant when these issues surfaced. Adetshina has stated in interviews that she was born in Soweto and grew up in Cape Town.