Former Miss Universe Nigeria Chidimma Adetshina is facing a fresh deportation battle in South Africa, two years after a citizenship dispute forced her out of the Miss South Africa pageant. The 25-year-old, who was born in Soweto to a Nigerian father, appeared before the Cape Town Regional Court on June 9th after being arrested earlier that month in the Summer Greens area of the city. She was released on a warning and is due back in court on July 16th, as South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs pushes ahead with efforts to have her deported.
Court papers filed by immigration officer Adrian Jackson allege that system checks confirmed Adetshina holds no valid South African residency status, despite having been born in the country. The dispute dates back to 2024, when Home Affairs launched an investigation into her citizenship, alleging her mother, Anabela Rungo, fraudulently registered her birth using a stolen South African identity. Rungo, who is Mozambican, was arrested last year over the alleged fraud, and authorities have since cancelled both her and Adetshina’s South African documentation. Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber further alleges Adetshina later obtained a Nigerian passport and applied for a South African visa using a fraudulent bank statement, leading to her being declared a prohibited person in December 2024.
Adetshina withdrew from the Miss South Africa pageant in 2024 after the citizenship questions triggered intense public backlash, before going on to represent Nigeria at Miss Universe, where she finished as first runner-up. As part of her release conditions, the court has ordered her to remain at her current address and report any change in residence, employment or movement to immigration officials. The case returns to court in just over two weeks, as authorities continue pressing their bid for her removal from the country.
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