Chidimma Adetshina Faces Fresh South Africa Deportation Battle as authorities pursue legal action over her immigration status. Latest update
Former Miss Universe Nigeria 2024, Chidimma Adetshina, has appeared before the Cape Town Regional Court in Cape Town, South Africa, as South African immigration authorities intensify legal efforts to deport the 25-year-old beauty queen over allegations that she and her young son are residing in the country without lawful immigration status.
The proceedings, which remain before the court, continued to draw attention on 29 June 2026, although no final ruling has been made.
According to court documents filed by the Department of Home Affairs, immigration officials arrested Chidimma Adetshina in the Summer Greens area of Cape Town before bringing her before the court on 9 June.
The court released the beauty queen on warning, with the matter adjourned until 16 July, when deportation proceedings are expected to continue.
Immigration officer Adrian Jackson told the court that departmental investigations, including electronic record checks and a status determination interview, concluded that Chidimma Adetshina does not currently possess lawful residential status in South Africa.
Court papers also allege that her minor son’s immigration status is dependent on hers.
The latest case follows months of scrutiny surrounding Chidimma Adetshina’s immigration status. In March, South Africa’s Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, dismissed an application seeking to overturn the refusal of her request for a letter of good cause.
The minister further alleged that Chidimma Adetshina failed to challenge earlier decisions affecting her South African identity documents and was subsequently declared a prohibited person under the country’s immigration laws.
Authorities have also alleged that the former pageant queen later entered South Africa through the Lebombo border from Mozambique while presenting herself as a South African citizen.
Those allegations remain central to the ongoing legal proceedings and have yet to be tested fully before the court.
As part of the conditions attached to her release, Chidimma Adetshina has been ordered to remain at her registered address and notify immigration authorities of any changes to her residence, employment or movements while the matter is pending.
The case marks the latest chapter in a controversy that first gained international attention during the Miss South Africa 2024 competition, when Chidimma Adetshina’s eligibility became the subject of intense public debate because of her Nigerian and Mozambican heritage.
Following her withdrawal from the South African pageant, the Silverbird Group invited her to compete in Miss Universe Nigeria 2024, which she won before going on to finish as the first runner-up at the Miss Universe 2024 competition and claim the continental title of Miss Universe Africa and Oceania.
Chidimma Adetshina has not publicly responded to the latest allegations before the court. Until the legal process concludes, the deportation proceedings remain allegations, and no final determination has been made regarding her immigration status.
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