South Africans launch petition to prevent Chidimma Adetshina from competing in Miss Universe

“The Nigerian Embassy granted the mentioned contestant a diplomatic passport, which ensured a swift escape for herself and her mother, granting her the opportunity to be a contestant in Miss Universe Nigeria”.

Chidimma Adetshina is in another dispute with South Africans. Progressive Forces of South Africa has written a petition to the Miss Universe organisers to halt her participation in the competition.

Ms Adetshina, currently in Mexico representing Nigeria in the Miss Universe beauty pageant, could be disqualified if the petition succeeds.

Lebogang Shovhote started a petition on change.org titled ‘Chidimma Adetshina should not participate in Miss Universe’ for the Progressive Forces of South Africa on Wednesday.

Justifying the petition, Ms Shovhote wrote, “We are writing this letter on behalf of everyone who stands for justice to plead with you, Miss Universe, as an organisation, to reconsider the contestant, Miss Nigeria Universe, and if possible, to cancel her entry”.

The petition comes a day after the Department of Home Affairs announced that Ms Adetshina and her mother’s South African identity and travel documents would be revoked after they failed to justify the validity of their documents.

As of press time, 954 signatures have been recorded, and the target is 1000.

Ms Adetshina, who won the Miss Universe Nigeria 2024 pageant after she withdrew from the Miss South Africa pageant, was born in 2001 in Soweto’s Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital to a Nigerian father and Mozambican mother, now naturalised South African.

Petition

The group, in its petition, cited criminal charges, saying the beauty queen and her Mozambican mother could be facing alleged identity theft.

The petition reads, “We are genuinely excited about the upcoming edition of the biggest event in the pageant industry since a Miss Universe crown is a career-defining moment for title holders worldwide.

“Even though we are excited, we are greatly concerned about Miss Universe Nigeria, Chidimma Adetshina, whose mother, Anabela Rungo, was found guilty of committing identity fraud before participating in Miss Universe Nigeria.

“A well-known activist, Kwena Molekwa, risked her own life and that of her team, working tirelessly to gather the facts regarding this contestant. The South African public was shocked with stories of identity fraud, drug dealing, and a variety of other heinous crimes connected to the mentioned contestant and her family.

“The Department of Home Affairs in South Africa was prompted to lodge an investigation after the South African public outcry when it was suspected that the mentioned contestant may have obtained her South African identification fraudulently. Overwhelming evidence was shared on social media, especially X, where it was proven beyond doubt that Anabela Rungo stole the identity of a South African child, and the impact of identity theft had devastating consequences.

“The Nigerian Embassy granted the mentioned contestant a diplomatic passport, which ensured a swift escape for herself and her mother, granting her the opportunity to be a contestant in Miss Universe Nigeria. There was backlash from many South Africans, condemning the Nigerian government for hosting a citizen who has been found guilty of hosting people who committed crimes in South Africa, bringing Nigeria into disrepute.

“Chidimma and her mother were granted a fair chance to defend themselves but failed.

Yesterday, on October 29th, 2024, Home Affairs, by court order, cancelled the identities of Anabela Rungo and Chidimma Adetshina.

“As Progressive Forces of South Africa, we are writing this letter on behalf of everyone who stands for justice to plead with you, Miss Universe, as an organisation, to reconsider the contestant, Miss Nigeria Universe, and, if possible, cancel her entry. Miss Universe is a known class, integrity, and fair competition brand.”

The group argued that allowing Ms Adetshina to participate could compromise and ruin the organisation’s integrity.

“Miss Universe is known for granting a good platform to women from all walks of life to contribute positively to society while being the golden key to unlocking endless possibilities. We would hate to see the pageant lose its good image due to a contestant whose mother has been found guilty of stealing the identity of an innocent citizen. Not only did this contestant bring her own country into disrepute, but her participation in this iconic pageant would also bring Africa into disrepute. Throughout this, the contestant, her mother, the embassy of Nigeria and the Nigerian government have been arrogant and have shown no remorse.

“Thank you for reading our letter; we hope you act in the best interests of all contestants and for justice and fairness,” the petition added.

Background

Recall in August, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Ms Adetshina, who has a Nigerian father and a Mozambican mother and is now a naturalised South African, became a central point of South Africa’s debates over xenophobia and national identity after reaching the Top 30 in the Miss South Africa competition.

Her participation sparked widespread reactions when her wedding video was unearthed, which South Africans deemed violated the competition’s guidelines. The criticism of the video was that a married, divorced or nursing mother is not eligible to contest for Miss South Africa.

Despite several criticisms and calls for her disqualification, the Miss South Africa organisation’s website maintains stringent citizenship and ethical conduct criteria. Surprisingly, the body initially supported the model.

The outcry by South Africans led the South African government to investigate the citizenship status and eligibility of Ms Adetshina, who was then a finalist in the 2024 Miss South Africa pageant.

However, Ms Adetshina withdrew from the contest due to the backlash and was invited to participate in the Miss Universe Nigeria pageant, which she won in September. This made her eligible to participate in the Miss Universe pageant scheduled for Mexico.