Organisers of the Miss South Africa pageant told BBC Pidgin that they will not make any further comments beyond what they have already stated regarding the criteria for the contest.
They also mentioned that Ms. Chidimma will not make any further comments.
The eligibility of Chidimma Adetshina, who is from Pimville, Soweto, and questions about her nationality began trending on social media since she entered the top 16 stage.
Some social media users are calling for her removal from the contest because they believe she is not South African.
Organisers stated that all the documents provided by Chidimma were screened and vetted.
According to the Miss South Africa website, Ms. Chidimma Adetshina meets the criteria.
“The applicant must be a South African citizen and have a valid South African passport. If the applicant holds dual citizenship, please provide details of both.” The organisers further told BBC Pidgin that “Chidimma is a South African citizen and has met all the requirements to be part of the Miss South Africa competition.”
“Her mother is South African, and her father is Nigerian,” they explained.
Miss South Africa 2024 will be the 66th edition of the Miss South Africa pageant.
The grand finale will be held on Saturday, 10 August 2024, in Pretoria.
The 2023 winner of the beauty contest, Natasha Joubert of Gauteng, will crown her successor at the end of the programme.
The winner will represent South Africa in the Miss Universe 2024 pageant to be held in Mexico.
“I Want to Use My Story to Motivate People”
Chidimma Adetshina was born at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Soweto, to a Nigerian father and a mother of Mozambican descent, and she was raised in Soweto.
Her parents met in Johannesburg in the late ’90s and decided to settle in Pimville.
That is her maternal grandmother’s home, but she later moved to Cape Town where she currently lives.
According to Ms. Chidimma in an interview with Sowetan SMag, being raised in a multi-national home has made her see different cultures in the diaspora and how both her origins give her a sense of pride as a South African.
“I was so happy to enter Miss SA and honestly, I didn’t think that far as to what the public would think.”
But as I got to the top 16, that was when I felt it, she said in the interview.
“People on X (formerly Twitter) were asking why I was competing because they thought I was not South African. They questioned my nationality, along with my parents,” she said.
“At first, I ignored it but as I progressed in the competition, the criticism started to grow by the day. Until I thought to myself, I am representing one country but I don’t feel the love from the people I represent – I even asked myself, ‘Is it worth it?’”
For her entry information, Adetshina stated that she is a law student who enjoys playing netball for the Western Province.
The top 13 finalist Chidimma Adetshina, in her entry video for the pageant, said she wants to use her story to motivate for unity.
