The country will finally get to know the truth about Miss SA contestant Chidimma Adetshina’s citizenship. Miss South Africa Organisation has requested a thorough investigation into the citizenship of the contestant who has set social media ablaze lately. This is ahead of the pageant finale on Saturday.
Growing questions about her citizenship, eligibility
Chidimma’s participation in the national pageant has divided the nation, many questioning her eligibility. At the heart of the controversy was her public display of her Nigerian and Mozambican heritage in all her forums. She had no display of her South African identity or heritage on her bios and social media platforms.
South Africans also questioned her Soweto roots, when she does not speak a single language spoken there. No details of her growing up in Soweto were found. And her mother is said to be Mozambican by birth, not South African Zulu, as claimed.
Natasha Joubert will crown her successor at the end of the glamorous event. This will be hosted at SunBet Arena in Pretoria on Saturday.
After weeks of the public’s argument on Chidimma’s citizenship, the Department of Home Affairs will step in. It will look into the matter to confirm if she is eligible to represent South Africa. To establish if she can become an ambassador of the organisation if she wins.
Official enquiry, rule of law
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber explained the matter. He said the department is only zooming into the matter now that an official enquiry has been brought to their attention.
The minister said the request also included consent from the affected individuals.
“In all that we do, we are guided by the rule of law. If transgressions are found in this case, they will be handled in strict accordance with legal prescripts. If not, we will accordingly inform the requesters.
“We will also keep the public informed on the outcomes of the assessment. Cleaning up Home Affairs is an enormous task that will require collaboration with the public. This to enable it to play its rightful role in national security and economic growth,” said Schreiber.
SA parent by birth qualifies the child’s citizenship
Speaking at the ANC Lekgotla outcome briefing on Tuesday, deputy minister Njabulo Nzuza said policies and laws are applicable. He said they should not be questioned much on this matter. They set out that it is through a South African parent that a child can be considered a South African citizen.
“We have been dealing with the issue of Miss South Africa for a while. And I think over the past week we have clearly set out that the policy and the law is very clear. For a person to have a South African citizenship by birth you need to be born of South African parents. Or one of your parents must have been South African,” said Nzuza.
