Former Miss Universe Nigeria, Chidimma Adetshina, has returned to the Cape Town Regional Court in South Africa to challenge efforts by the Department of Home Affairs to deport her over allegations that she and her minor son are living in the country without lawful immigration status.
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Adetshina appeared before the court on Thursday, July 16, 2026, and was expected to submit an affidavit setting out the steps she had taken to regularise her status in South Africa.
The proceedings resumed shortly after 2 p.m. and form part of her legal challenge to the deportation process initiated following her arrest on June 6.
She first appeared before the Cape Town Regional Court on June 9 after being arrested in Summer Greens. The court released her on warning and postponed the case to July 16, while permitting her to remain at the address where she was found pending further proceedings.
The court is expected to consider her affidavit alongside the submissions and documents presented by the Department of Home Affairs before deciding the next stage of the deportation case.
In court documents filed by immigration officer Adrian Jackson, the Department of Home Affairs alleged that checks conducted on its electronic residency systems showed that Adetshina did not possess lawful South African residential status.
Jackson stated that officials also interviewed her to determine her immigration status before concluding that she was an “illegal foreigner” under South Africa’s immigration laws.
The department consequently asked the court to confirm her detention for deportation to her country of origin.
It alleged that Adetshina remained in South Africa unlawfully despite having been declared a prohibited person in December 2024.
The department also alleged that she re-entered South Africa after being prohibited from doing so and presented herself as a South African citizen at the Lebombo border post.
The allegations remain before the court and have not been finally determined.
The Department of Home Affairs alleged that Adetshina and her minor son were residing in South Africa without valid immigration status.
According to the department, the child’s right to remain in the country was dependent on the status of his mother’s application.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber was quoted as saying that because Adetshina’s application was rejected on the grounds of her prohibited status and alleged submission of fraudulent documents, the child had no independent basis to remain in South Africa.
Adetshina is challenging the department’s position and is seeking to demonstrate through her affidavit that she has taken steps to regularise her immigration status.
The dispute followed an earlier application by Adetshina asking the Department of Home Affairs to review its decision declaring her a prohibited person.
The Home Affairs Minister reportedly dismissed the application in March 2026 and upheld the earlier decision barring her from remaining in the country.
According to the department, Adetshina had been notified in September 2024 of its intention to cancel the South African identity documents linked to her and her child but failed to respond within the stipulated period.
The department further alleged that she obtained a Nigerian passport while in Nigeria and subsequently applied for a South African visitor’s visa.
It claimed the visa application was rejected because she submitted a fraudulent bank statement and that she did not appeal the decision.
Schreiber subsequently declared her a prohibited person on December 19, 2024, meaning she was not eligible for a visa or permit to remain in South Africa under the country’s Immigration Act.
The department also alleged that she later entered South Africa through Mozambique at the Lebombo border post and presented herself as a South African citizen.
The immigration case is the latest development in a controversy that began during Adetshina’s participation in the 2024 Miss South Africa competition.
Adetshina was born in Soweto, South Africa, to a Nigerian father and a Mozambican mother.
She became a finalist in the Miss South Africa pageant but withdrew from the competition following intense public debate over her nationality and her family’s citizenship documentation.
Her participation attracted widespread criticism and social media attacks because of her Nigerian heritage, despite her birth in South Africa and her initial acceptance by the pageant organisers.
In August 2024, South African authorities said preliminary investigations indicated that her mother might have been involved in identity theft when obtaining South African documentation.
The controversy eventually led to questions about Adetshina’s citizenship and the validity of identity documents associated with her and her minor son.
There has been no final criminal judgment establishing wrongdoing by Adetshina in relation to the alleged actions of her mother.
Following her withdrawal from Miss South Africa, Adetshina accepted an invitation to participate in the Miss Universe Nigeria competition.
She represented Taraba State and emerged as the winner of the 2024 pageant, earning the right to represent Nigeria at the global Miss Universe competition.
At the 73rd Miss Universe pageant in Mexico City, she finished as the first runner-up, the highest placement ever achieved by a Nigerian contestant in the competition.
She was also crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania.
Her performance attracted praise from Nigerians at home and abroad, with the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission commending her resilience and success after the controversy she experienced in South Africa.
The current proceedings have shifted attention from Adetshina’s pageant achievements to her legal status in South Africa.
The Cape Town Regional Court must now consider whether the steps outlined in her affidavit are sufficient to affect the deportation proceedings and whether the Department of Home Affairs has established lawful grounds for her removal.
The outcome will determine whether she is permitted to remain in South Africa, allowed further time to regularise her status or subjected to deportation.
Until the court reaches a final decision, the department’s claims that she entered or remained in the country unlawfully remain allegations.
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