The investigation into former Miss South Africa hopeful Chidemma Vanessa Onwe Adetshina’s citizenship is at “an advanced stage.” This was revealed on Tuesday by the Department of Home Affairs while they updated the department’s portfolio committee in Parliament on the matter.  Adetshina’s mother is being investigated for alleged identity fraud, and the matter will involve the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), the department revealed.

The investigation kicked off on 5 August 2024 when the Miss South Africa Organisation approached the department to verify Adetshina’s South African citizenship. At the time, Adetshina, who had made the Miss South Africa 2024 Top 10, was facing vitriolic (and honestly xenophobic) backlash over her involvement in the pageant and her parents’ nationality. Her father is Nigerian, and her mother is Mozambican but allegedly grew up in Soweto. 

Home Affairs then dropped a bomb: They had evidence that Adetshina’s mother allegedly used another person’s identity to secure citizenship and South African documents.

Adetshina dropped out of the pageant after this revelation, citing concerns for her and her family’s safety.

Now, the department’s findings indicate that a South African woman’s identity was stolen and used to register Adetshina’s birth in 2001. The fraud came to light when the woman, whose identity was allegedly stolen, tried registering her child, only to discover that another child was already registered under her ID number.

The department said the investigation had identified officials involved in the fraudulent registration, one of whom has now died. The focus is now on the two remaining officials.

According to the department, Adetshina’s mother was issued a notice under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act earlier this month. The department’s next steps will depend on her response. 

The department is also seeking legal advice on the potential consequences for Adetshina’s citizenship.

And what is Adetshina doing while all this plays out? She is competing in the Miss Nigeria Universe, where she is currently leading with over 12,000 votes. She received and accepted an invitation to compete in the pageant last week. If she wins, she could represent Nigeria in November at the Miss Universe pageant in Mexico City, Mexico.

While she might not have competed in Miss South Africa, her involvement has exposed home affairs corruption. Not only does she have a face that could launch a thousand ships, but she’s helped, in her way, to sink the home affairs corruption ship.