Chidinma Adetshina Speaks Out as Deportation Case Drags Into 2027

CAPE TOWN

Former Miss South Africa finalist and Miss Universe Nigeria runner-up Chidinma Adetshina has publicly accused South African authorities of xenophobia, after a Cape Town court postponed her long-running deportation case to February 2027, extending a legal saga that began with a beauty pageant controversy two years ago.

Adetshina, 25, has not been convicted of any offence; the dispute centres on her citizenship status rather than any criminal allegation, and she has consistently maintained she has fully cooperated with every stage of the legal process.

A pageant dispute that became an immigration battle

The case traces back to 2024, when questions were raised over Adetshina’s eligibility to compete in Miss South Africa because of her family background, she was born in Soweto to a Nigerian father and a mother of Mozambican descent.

South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs later withdrew her South African identity and travel documents, citing an investigation into alleged irregularities in documentation linked to her and her mother, though officials have acknowledged Adetshina was an infant at the time and could not have been personally involved in any wrongdoing.

She withdrew from the pageant amid the ensuing controversy.

The fight over detention

Findings by ValidViewNetwork show the case has since evolved into a broader legal battle over immigration law and detention powers. The Department of Home Affairs has argued Adetshina has no valid legal status in South Africa and has sought court authority to detain her pending deportation; her legal team has countered that she has deep ties to the country, having been born there, and that alternatives to detention were never properly considered.

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Proceedings at the Cape Town Regional Court reached repeated adjournments through July and August, most recently pushing judgment to 27 February 2027.

“I was born here”

Speaking to reporters after the latest hearing, Adetshina said she believed she had been unfairly singled out.

“South Africa is governed by the rule of law, and we should not allow xenophobia and misinformation to determine how people are going to be treated,” she told journalists, urging South Africans to embrace the spirit of Ubuntu rather than nationalist backlash.

Her remarks drew a sharp divide online, with a vocal segment of South African social media users pushing back forcefully against her characterisation of the case.

What comes next

With judgment now not expected until early 2027, Adetshina remains free on warning while her case proceeds, meaning the question of where she legally belongs will likely remain unresolved for months yet, playing out in the same news cycle as Nigeria’s own approaching general election, in which pageant fans on both sides of the Niger-Orange river divide are watching closely.