ON October 29, the Department of Home Affairs revealed that it had started the process to revoke the South African identity and travel documents of the beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina and her family.
Following this, Progressive Forces of South Africa released a statement on October 30 asking the Miss Universe organisation to prevent the Nigerian model from participating in the global beauty pageant. However, this did not prevent Adetshina's victory of finishing second place in this year’s Miss Universe.
In heightened efforts to dismantle any potential for shining on the global stage, the group launched a petition that garnered hundreds of signatures for the Miss Universe organisation to forbid Adetshina from participating.
Political analyst and senior lecturer at the University of Limpopo, Dr Metji Makgoba, said Adetshina’s high profile status was why the government considered revoking her identity and blamed the Department of Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber, who is also a member of the Democratic Alliance (DA).
“This is a conservative decision by the Democratic Alliance to align with the xenophobic public sentiments in South Africa. The issue is that she did not help the cause by handling the problem through the media as well as releasing media statements that were not based on South Africa's anti-black laws.
“She is marginalised because she is black. However, she is also marginalised because she handled this issue poorly in the public domain. Suppose she pleaded with the state that she was a victim of her parent's fraudulent actions. She also participated in the xenophobic fight between SA and Nigeria, and this did not help her cause,” Makgoba said.
Makgoba felt that the government was setting an example with Adetshina. “The Home Affairs Minister is white, and the DA is in charge. They clearly want to set an example with a black child.”
Makgoba felt that Adetshina’s matter took a different shape, arguing there were elements of sexism, racism, and violence aimed at Adetshina.
“This presents a grey area, as she now has to answer for crimes she did not commit,” Makgoba said.
Home Affairs did not respond to questions from the Sunday Independent.
The publication sought to establish what crimes Adetshina had committed to warrant revoking her South African documents and whether DHA’s announcement was not extreme.
Adetshina fled South Africa in August to compete in the Miss Universe Nigeria pageant, which she eventually won after she was forced to withdraw from Miss South Africa 2024 amid complaints and findings by DHA that her parents could have committed identity fraud when she was born in Soweto.
The department officials further revealed that her mother, Anabela Rungo, could face potential fraud charges.
Many have argued that Adetshina did not commit any crime and, therefore, did not deserve the hostility she had received from a country she once called home.
In August, she told Nigerian media she would not return to South Africa.
While many had mixed reactions to the announcement that she may lose her South African identity, others asked why she had to be punished for a sin she did not commit.
Political analyst Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast says the Adetshina matter is non-issue.
“The issue of Adetshina is an administrative one. I don't even think there are diplomatic concerns between South Africa and Nigeria.”
Political parties were also drawn into the Adetshina debate about her identity, with the Patriotic Alliance (PA) laying charges to prevent her from participating in the Miss SA contest.
However, the party later withdrew its legal case against Adetshina after she withdrew from the prestigious competition.
At the time, PA's Deputy President, Kenny Kunene, expressed satisfaction with the outcome.
“Her withdrawal aligns with the resolution we sought from the court. It became clear to her that our legal stance was strong and court victory was imminent. Therefore, continuing the proceedings is unnecessary as her withdrawal has effectively achieved our objective."
The Pan African Congress of Azania (PAC) said that the criticism and outrage towards Adetshina for her Nigerian heritage was just “antiblackness” and afrophobia caused by white supremacy, which made black people hate themselves.
The party was of the view that the country's colonial structures, which aimed to preserve white privilege, survived through the division of the colonised African people.
While the debate is seemingly far from over, questions on the crimes she committed still lingered for Adetshina, who was born at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto and was raised in Pimville until moving with her parents to Cape Town.