Home Affairs, Adetshina clash over identity as court reserves deportation ruling
The Department of Home Affairs and Chidimma Adetshina’s legal team presented sharply conflicting arguments over her identity in the Cape Town Regional Court today, Monday as the former beauty queen fights to remain in South Africa.
Home Affairs argued that Adetshina is an illegal foreign national with no valid documentation and should be detained pending her deportation. The department also alleged that she obtained Nigerian passports for herself and her minor child and entered South Africa through Mozambique after applying for a South African visa in Lagos.
Her legal team rejected those claims, arguing that Adetshina was born in South Africa, has no meaningful ties to Nigeria, is not a flight risk, and that her citizenship remains the subject of a separate High Court challenge. They further contended that Home Affairs had not conducted a fair investigation into her own status before declaring her documents invalid.
The magistrate encouraged both parties to resolve the matter without the court’s intervention, but no agreement was reached.
Judgment on whether Adetshina should be detained pending deportation has been reserved until 19 August.
