Former Miss South Africa finalist and Miss Universe Nigeria 2024, Chidimma Adetshina, has intensified her legal fight against efforts by the Department of Home Affairs to have her deported from South Africa.
The beauty queen returned to the Cape Town Regional Court on Thursday, where proceedings focused on her challenge to the department’s deportation application.
As part of the process, Adetshina was expected to submit an affidavit detailing the measures she has taken to regularise her immigration status, a key component of her case against the state.
The legal battle follows her arrest in June in Summersgreen, Cape Town, after Home Affairs alleged that she was living in South Africa without lawful immigration status.
Adetshina first appeared in court on June 9 and was released on warning, with the matter postponed to allow for further legal proceedings.
According to court documents, she allegedly represented herself as a South African citizen when crossing the Lebombo border from Mozambique.
The Department of Home Affairs has stated in court papers that it located Adetshina and found that both she and her minor son were residing in the country without valid immigration status.
The case forms part of a broader dispute surrounding her family’s documentation, which first came under scrutiny in 2024 during her participation as a Miss South Africa finalist.
At the time, the Department of Home Affairs said it had uncovered prima facie evidence indicating that Adetshina’s mother, Anabela Rungo, had allegedly committed identity theft years earlier in order to obtain South African identity documents.
Rungo was subsequently arrested and later granted R10,000 bail by the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court. No further public developments regarding her case have since been announced.
The 25-year-old became one of South Africa’s most talked-about public figures in 2024 after questions over her citizenship overshadowed her Miss South Africa campaign.
She later withdrew from the pageant before accepting an invitation to compete in Miss Universe Nigeria, where she won the national title. Adetshina went on to finish as first runner-up at Miss Universe 2024 in Mexico City and was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania 2024.
The beauty queen took a social media hiatus after her birthday in January this year and recently made a comeback due to her legal battle.
