South African model set to lose citizenship amid row over ‘dual nationality’
Chidimma Adestshina won Miss Universe Nigeria after being forced to withdraw from Miss South Africa pageant.
A South African model who has been at the centre of a major controversy for her alleged dual nationality, is set to lose her citizenship of the Rainbow Nation.
On Tuesday, the country's Department of Home Affairs informed a parliamentary committee that ID papers of both Chidimma Adestshina and her mother will be cancelled as the latter was found to have committed ‘identity theft’ to become a South African, the BBC reported.
“They failed to meet Monday's deadline to provide reasons why they should be eligible to keep the papers,” Tommy Makhode, the top civil servant of the department said.
“Officials are awaiting on prosecutors about how to proceed,” Makhode added.
The case was investigated by the Hawks, a special police unit for ‘serious crimes.’
The controversy
A law student, Adestshina has a father who is from Nigeria while her mother has roots in Mozambique. The Home Affairs Department took up her case after she entered the final of the Miss South Africa pageant.
She left the competition in August after the department announced the ‘identity theft’ committed by her mother. However, while making the revelation, the department had also said the 23-year-old 'could not have participated in the alleged unlawful actions as she was an infant at the time".
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Adestshina was then invited to participate in Miss Universe Nigeria, a contest she would go on to win, making her eligible to represent that country at the Miss Universe competition in Mexico City, Mexico, in November.
After being crowned Miss Nigeria, Adestshina had described herself as both a ‘proud South African’ and a ‘proud Nigerian.’ Also, she has previously claimed to have been born in Soweto, a township near Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city.
