Cape Town - Tonight’s Miss SA crowning event will be without one of it’s finalists after Chidimma Adetshina was forced to withdraw, following a social media storm over her national identity.
The controversy had an immediate backlash when the Puebla International Literature Festival, set to take place in Mexico, revoked South Africa’s designation as the Country-in-Focus for this year’s festival, calling the country “mob ruled”.
The organisers announced on Thursday evening that they had also withdrawn the invitation of the South African guests following what they termed the victimisation of Adetshina, and her family.
We regret to announce the revocation of South Africa’s designation as the Country-in-Focus for this year’s festival, and the withdrawal of the invitation of our South African guests following the victimization of Chidimma Adetshina, her family, & members of immigrant communities. pic.twitter.com/JbX8VpZ24E
— Puebla Int'l Literature Festival (@PueblaLitFest) August 8, 2024
The striking beauty evoked controversy after a video surfaced of her celebrating with what appeared to be her Nigerian family after being named a Miss SA finalist.
This sparked a social media frenzy over her birth and South Africa identity with politicians, including Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie, also joining in, promising an investigation.
The Miss SA organisation then asked the Department of Home Affairs to launch an investigation.
This week Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said their initial investigations revealed that Adetshina’s mother might have committed fraud when she registered her birth using the identity of another person, whom they did not name.
Schreiber stressed that the 23-year old model could not have been part of the alleged fraud as she was an infant at the time.
“Adetshina could not have participated in the alleged unlawful actions of her mother, as she was an infant at the time when the activities took place in 2001,” he said.
This week she withdrew her participation. The model’s statement was shared on the Miss SA Instagram page.
“Being part of the Miss South Africa 2024 competition has been an amazing journey, however, after much careful consideration, I have made the difficult decision to withdraw myself from the competition for the safety and well-being of my family and myself.
“With the support of the Miss South Africa organisation, I leave with a heart full of gratitude for this amazing experience.
“I would like to take this opportunity to wish my fellow finalists all the best for the remainder of the competition. Whoever wears the crown represents us all.”
McKenzie’s party, the Patriotic Alliance (PA), was quick to cash in on her withdrawal.
The party’s Kenny Kunene thanked “patriotic South Africans”.
“The PA served legal papers on Thursday morning on the Miss SA organisers, Department of Home Affairs and pageant contestant Vanessa Chidimma Onwe Adetshina to interdict her from participation in the upcoming Miss SA contest.”
In a statement yesterday, the Miss SA Organisation said in light of recent events, “Miss SA 2024 contestant Chidimma Adetshina has made the difficult decision to withdraw from the Miss SA competition. We wish Chidimma all of the very best and success in all her endeavours.”
The popular Miss SA 2024 beauty pageant will be broadcast live on S3 today from 6pm from the SunBet Arena at Time Square, Pretoria.