The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) in South Africa has released the first results from examining the nationality of beauty queen Chidinma Adetshina.

Recall that the eligibility of model Chidimma, who is of Nigerian descent, to compete in the 2024 Miss South Africa pageant has recently come under scrutiny.

Prior to relocating to Pimville, her parents reportedly met in Johannesburg in the late 1990s.

The discussion around the 23-year-old's nationality gained momentum on social media in July, not long after she made it to round 16 of the Miss South Africa pageant.

South African Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said in a statement released on Monday, August 5, 2024, that the ministry opened an inquiry into Chidimma's citizenship following formal demands for information from the Miss SA organizers.

The DHA, however, asserted in a statement and video that were made public late on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, that Adetshina's mother might have engaged in identity theft and fraud.

The statement reads, “From the information we have uncovered thus far, we can indicate that prima facie reasons exist to believe that fraud and identity theft may have been committed by the person recorded in Home Affairs records as Chidimma Adetshina’s mother.

“Adetshina could not have participated in the alleged unlawful actions of her mother, as she was an infant in 2021 when the activities took place. An innocent South African mother, whose identity may have been stolen as part of the fraud committed by Adetshina’s mother, suffered because she could not register her child.”

GA