Former Miss Universe Nigeria, Chidimma Adetshina’s bid to halt deportation postponed to August as she returns to court

The case involving former Miss South Africa contestant and Miss Universe Nigeria, Chidimma Adetshina, has been postponed to the 19th of August in the Cape Town Regional Court. 

She appeared in the court on Monday, July 20, 2026 to challenge the move by Home Affairs to deport her.

Adetshina was arrested in Cape Town last month for allegedly being in the country illegally.

The matter was postponed for judgement by the presiding Magistrate, Reema Khorana.

This follows extensive arguments by the lawyers of the Department of Home Affairs detailing reasons why Adetshina should be deported to her home country.

The state has submitted that there are several issues that need to be considered on the conduct of the proceedings.

It argued that although the defence cited measures taken by Adetshina to legalize herself in the country, she doesn’t have the necessary paperwork and therefore, a detention and deportation is deemed fit. 

The state submitted that Adetshina still holds a South African passport, and she has refused to hand it over.

The court also heard that she also holds Nigerian citizenship. 

The defence has argued that there are reasonable ways to deal with the matter, one which includes that Adetshina report to her immigration officer every fortnight.

LIB reported that Adetshina, who was born in Soweto, South Africa, to a Nigerian father and a Mozambican mother, had initially contested for the Miss South Africa 2024 crown before withdrawing from the competition amid controversy surrounding her family’s citizenship status.

Her withdrawal followed an investigation by South African authorities into allegations concerning her mother’s identity and citizenship documentation. 

The controversy also sparked widespread social media attacks directed at Adetshina because of her Nigerian heritage, despite the fact that she was born in South Africa and had met the eligibility requirements for the beauty pageant.

In August 2024, the South African government stated that Adetshina’s mother, at the time the contestant was a finalist in the Miss South Africa competition, may have been involved in identity theft.

Adetshina was later accepted an invitation to compete in the Miss Universe Nigeria pageant, and emerged as the winner, earning the opportunity to represent Nigeria at the global Miss Universe competition.

At the 73rd Miss Universe pageant held in Mexico City, Adetshina, finished as the first runner-up and was also crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania.