By: Natasha Archary
ActionSA has written an urgent letter to the Department of Home Affairs demanding answers regarding how Chidimma Adetshina’s mother travelled to Nigeria.
Chidimma, who was crowned Miss Universe Nigeria on Saturday, 31 August was joined on stage by her mother, who is currently being investigated for possible fraud and identity theft.
This after Chidimma was surrounded by controversy regarding her South African citizenship during her Miss South Africa 2024 campaign.
An investigation by Home Affairs found prima facie evidence that the South African ID used to register Chidimma at birth, was allegedly stolen from a South African mother.
This after the Department found prima facie evidence that fraud may have been committed by Adetshina’s mother, as the ID that was used was allegedly stolen from a South African mother.
In an update to the investigation into Adetshina’s citizenship, the Department shared that a tracing process was followed to identify the Home Affairs officials who may have been involved in the alleged fraud. One of the officials has since passed on and the Department is currently investigating two other officials who may have been involved.
The Department of Home Affairs issued Chidimma Adetshina’s mother a letter to explain how she came to be in possession of the South African ID which was used to register her daughter at birth.
Amid the investigation, Chidimma’s mother travelled to Nigeria to witness her daughter’s crowning moment and ActionSA wants to know how the subject of an ongoing fraud and corruption investigation was permitted to leave the country.
“As indicated before the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on 20th of August, the Department stated that their investigation into the case of fraud and identity theft is at an advanced stage and includes involvement by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks).
It is therefore alarming that the main subject of this ongoing investigation was seen in Nigeria this past weekend during a televised broadcast of Miss Universe Nigeria. Given the nature of the investigation, which involves circumventing immigration controls, it is reasonable to expect that any travel would be restricted, especially to Nigeria.
As highlighted in the June 2022 report by the Ministerial Committee on the Issuance of Permits and Visas, of the 36 647 fraudulent applications detected, 12 177, or one-third, originated from Nigerians, underscoring the scale of the problem.
ActionSA believes these alarming figures highlight widespread efforts to undermine South Africa’s immigration regime and sovereignty and therefore demands that the government not take a lax approach to enforcing our laws, especially when fraud is uncovered, as in the case of Chidimma Adetshina’s mother
