‘I was born here’, Beauty queen Chidinma Adetshina decries xenophobia in South Africa deportation row

Chidinma Adetshina, a beauty queen, has accused South African authorities of unfairly targeting her as she continues to challenge efforts to deport her from the country where she says she was born and raised.

Adetshina, 25, made the comments after a South African court postponed the government’s bid to detain her until February 2027, giving her legal team more time to challenge a decision declaring her a prohibited person and seeking her deportation.

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“I remind everyone that I was born in South Africa. I have applied through the proper legal channels to have my status and citizenship determined,” Adetshina said after the hearing in Cape Town.

She said she believed authorities were trying to make an example of her and warned against allowing hostility towards migrants to influence decisions about her case.

“There has been an attempt” by South African authorities to make an example of her, she said.

“We should not allow xenophobia and misinformation to determine how people are going to be treated,” Adetshina added.

Her comments came as protesters from the anti-migrant group March and March gathered outside the court calling for her deportation. Some protesters chased her car as she left the courthouse.

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The dispute over Adetshina’s citizenship began in 2024 after she became a finalist in the Miss South Africa competition. Questions were raised about…