Miss SA Top 13 Contestant Chidimma Vanessa Onwe Adetshina Caught In Social Media Storm In a Teacup
Miss South Africa 2024 contestant Chidimma Vanessa Onwe Adetshina has been caught in the epicentre of public discourse over her identity as a South African since breaking into the final Top 13 selection of this year’s competition.
While the twenty-three-year-old law student from Cape Town managed to fly under the radar as a Top 30 belle, her ascension in the latest installment of the country’s premium beauty pageant, Miss SA, duly amplified her image. Despite her being a fiery champion in the fight against violence on women and children, social media uproar against Chidimma has overshadowed the contestant’s bid for the crown, with netizens questioning Adetshina’s nationality and citizenship and casting doubts on the validity of her position within the contest.
The public confusion has seen participants open up overlapping discussions on xenophobia, afrophobia, and black-on-black hatred. Polarised on the matter, critics have put Chidimma’s nationality under a magnifying glass after it came to light that she has parents of mixed nationalities, none of them being of South African ancestry.
Chidimma Vanessa Onwe Adetshina | SUPPLIED
For one to be a Home Affairs-recognised South African citizen, a person must be born in South Africa to at least one South African parent of valid citizenship or a permanent residency permit holder. Chidimma was born to a Nigerian father and a mother of Mozambican heritage who was born and raised in South Africa. Owing to the national identity of her mother being birthed and bred in South Africa, Chidimma, according to the system, is a South African citizen by birth.
According to the Miss South Africa Organisation, the criteria a woman needs to meet in order to secure a spot in the race is for her to be a South African citizen and in possession of valid particulars.
“The applicant must be a South African citizen and in possession of a valid South African ID document or passport. If the applicant holds dual citizenship, please provide details of both.”
– The Miss SA Website
Although reception has been inconsistent, Chidimma responded to the negative publicity.
In an interview with The Sowetan’s S Mag, she expressed regret about not properly introducing herself to South Africans in her customary introductory video. She also defended her position as a contestant and her identity by pointing out that she was not the only contestant who didn’t have an overtly South African surname, feeling that she has been a target and at a “disadvantage” because of her skin colour.
Chidimma Vanessa Onwe Adetshina