Cape Town — The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs has confirmed that two Department of Home Affairs officials are currently under investigation for their alleged involvement in the fraud scandal against Chidimma Adetshina’s mother.
Adetshina was under scrutiny for her involvement in the Miss South Africa competition this year, as questions were raised over her eligibility due to her having a Nigerian father and Mozambican mother.
It was later revealed by Home Affairs that there was prima facie evidence against her mother that found that Chidimma’s mother had committed identity fraud.
In a statement, the department said it had identified the officials who registered the birth at a Home Affairs in Johannesburg, one of whom had passed on. The department is now investigating the other two officials who may have been involved in the alleged fraudulent scheme.
Through extensive research into records, it found that the South African mother whose identity was taken, was born in 1982 and applied for the document in 1995. When she went to collect it, she was told it was collected already at an office she did not apply at.
The Department of Home Affairs has released a report and submitted it to parliament on the investigation around Chidimma Adetshina’s citizenship saga. pic.twitter.com/5DSPkQEoTf
— Kgopolo (@PhilMphela) August 20, 2024
“She later gave birth to a child in 2001. When she attempted to register her child’s birth, she was informed that a child had already been registered under her ID number. That child was Chidimma Vanessa Onwe Adetshina,” the department said.
The Department of Home Affairs said that it visited the mother whose ID was stolen in Tshwane. The details in her initial ID match those in the department’s records for Adetshina’s mother.
The department has issued Adetshina’s mother with a Promotion of Administrative Justice Act letter and her response to this letter will determine the final decision that the department will take about the ID she is currently carrying.
The Department said the investigation is at an advanced stage and the matter also includes involvement from the Hawks.
Adetshina was invited to compete in the Miss Universe Nigeria pageant following her dropout from the Miss South Africa contest, which has caused some controversy.
Adetshina gleefully accepted the invitation and was excited to participate in the competition to represent her father’s home country.
“I have received an invitation from the Silverbird Group, who are the organisers of the Miss Universe Nigeria beauty pageant, to participate in Miss Universe Nigeria 2024, and I say this with great excitement because I have decided to participate in Miss Universe Nigeria 2024,” she said.
The beautiful Chidimma Adetshina joins Miss Universe Nigeria after withdrawing from Miss South Africa, says she’s excited to participate in Africa’s most prestigious pageant.#EntertainmentNews #updateme #bbnaijaseason9 | Kassia | Ebuka pic.twitter.com/GYkS2x830M
— iBrand_TV (@ibrand_tv) August 14, 2024
According to the latest results in the poll, Adetshina has gained 12 104 votes. She is looking to win the title from her predecessor, Ugochi Mitchel Ihezue, the former Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) 2017 hailing from Imo State. Ihezue was the first woman to claim the prestigious beauty title.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
