Former Miss South Africa finalist and former Miss Universe Nigeria Chidimma Adetshina is facing a deportation battle in South Africa, with her case now postponed until February 2027.

Adetshina has maintained that she was born in South Africa and says she has been unfairly targeted. She argues that she applied for citizenship through legal channels and has challenged the decision by South African authorities.

South Africa’s Home Affairs authorities dispute her legal status. Her identity documents were stripped in 2024 after authorities alleged that her mother had committed identity fraud to obtain South African nationality. Adetshina was subsequently declared an undesirable or prohibited person.

She was arrested in June 2026 after allegedly re-entering South Africa illegally and was later released with a warning.

The latest court proceedings took place in Cape Town, where anti-immigration protesters gathered demanding that she leave the country. The court has ordered her to remain at her current address and report regularly to an immigration officer while the legal challenge continues.

Miss South Africa Finalist Chidimma Adetshina Faces Deportation Battle In Court

South Africa's arts and culture minister on Friday urged a Miss South Africa contestant of Nigerian descent to prove her nationality, wading into a raging controversy over her right to represent the country.

Chidimma Adetshina, 23, has been the subject of vicious, xenophobic attacks on social media since she was announced as a finalist in the national beauty fair in July, with many questioning her credentials.&nbsp;

"Why can't she just produce (documents) and say she's South African?" arts and culture minister, Gayton McKenzie, a politician known for his harsh anti-immigration stance, told national broadcaster SABC.

"There are beautiful South African young ladies that might be robbed of this opportunity".

The pageant's organisers said Adetshina, a law student, is a South African citizen holding "both a South African ID and passport" and thus "meets all the contestant eligibility criteria".&nbsp;

Adetshina who is due to compete in the Miss South Africa finals next week, has previously told local media she was born in Soweto to a Nigerian father and a South African mother of Mozambican descent.&nbsp;

South Africa grants citizenship by birth to anyone born in the country after 1995.&nbsp;

Yet, her participation in the pageant has stoked&nbsp;anti-foreigner sentiment in the nation, which has witnessed violent, and at times deadly, attacks on immigrants in the past.&nbsp;

Politicians, celebrities and ordinary citizens have weighed in on the debate on social media and talk shows.&nbsp;

The leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party expressed its solidarity, saying attacks against her reflected the "remnants of apartheid and colonisation, where divisive ideologies continue to plague our society."

"It is particularly troubling that previous contestants of foreign descent did not face similar scrutiny when they were white or Asian," the party said in a statement.

Hostility towards foreigners has increased in recent years, as South Africans tire of unwavering unemployment.&nbsp;

Despite lacklustre economic growth, the continent's most industrialised nation attracts millions of migrants, mainly from other African countries.&nbsp;

"If she's South African, I'll be the first person to apologise," said McKenzie, who was appointed minister in June, as his far-right Patriotic Alliance party joined a coalition government.

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) condemned McKenzie's rearks on the case as "xenophobic&nbsp;bullying". &nbsp;

South Africa's arts and culture minister on Friday urged a Miss South Africa contestant of Nigerian descent to prove her nationality, wading into a raging controversy over her right to represent the country.

South Africa's arts and culture minister on Friday urged a Miss South Africa contestant of Nigerian descent to prove her nationality, wading into a raging controversy over her right to represent the country. Chidimma Adetshina, 23, has been the subject of vicious, xenophobic attacks on social media since she was announced as a finalist in the national beauty fair in July, with many questioning her credentials. "Why can't she just produce (documents) and say she's South African?" arts and culture minister, Gayton McKenzie, a politician known for his harsh anti-immigration stance, told national broadcaster SABC. "There are beautiful South African young ladies that might be robbed of this opportunity". The pageant's organisers said Adetshina, a law student, is a South African citizen holding "both a South African ID and passport" and thus "meets all the contestant eligibility criteria". Adetshina who is due to compete in the Miss South Africa finals next week, has previously told local media she was born in Soweto to a Nigerian father and a South African mother of Mozambican descent. South Africa grants citizenship by birth to anyone born in the country after 1995. Yet, her participation in the pageant has stoked anti-foreigner sentiment in the nation, which has witnessed violent, and at times deadly, attacks on immigrants in the past. Politicians, celebrities and ordinary citizens have weighed in on the debate on social media and talk shows. The leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party expressed its solidarity, saying attacks against her reflected the "remnants of apartheid and colonisation, where divisive ideologies continue to plague our society." "It is particularly troubling that previous contestants of foreign descent did not face similar scrutiny when they were white or Asian," the party said in a statement. Hostility towards foreigners has increased in recent years, as South Africans tire of unwavering unemployment. Despite lacklustre economic growth, the continent's most industrialised nation attracts millions of migrants, mainly from other African countries. "If she's South African, I'll be the first person to apologise," said McKenzie, who was appointed minister in June, as his far-right Patriotic Alliance party joined a coalition government. The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) condemned McKenzie's rearks on the case as "xenophobic bullying".

Miss South Africa: Finalist Chidimma Adetshina faces xenophobic attacks over Nigerian father

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Miss South Africa Finalist Chidimma Adetshina Faces Deportation Battle In Court

Miss South Africa: Finalist Chidimma Adetshina faces xenophobic attacks over Nigerian father