One of South Africa‘s opposition parties, ActionSA, has written to the Department of Home Affairs to clarify how former Miss SA finalist Chidimma Adetshina’s mother, the principal subject of an ongoing fraud and corruption investigation, was permitted to leave South Africa and travel to Nigeria.

Adetshina withdrew from the Miss SA pageant out of “fear for her and her family’s safety” following a Department of Home Affairs probe regarding her status in the country. At the weekend, she was crowned Miss Universe Nigeria 2024.

In August, ahead of the Miss SA pageant, the Department of Home Affairs said there is prima facie indications that the person registered as Adetshina’s mother may have committed fraud and identity theft. As a result, a South African woman whose identity may have been stolen could not register her child.

“Adetshina could not have participated in the alleged unlawful actions of her mother as she was an infant at the time when the activities took place in 2001,” the department clarified.

ActionSA chief whip Lerato Ngobeni said that, as indicated before the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on 20 August, the department stated that its investigation into fraud and identity theft is at an advanced stage and includes involvement by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks).

Ngobeni said it is alarming that the main subject of this ongoing investigation was seen in Nigeria this past weekend during a televised broadcast of Miss Universe Nigeria.

“Given the nature of the investigation, which involves circumventing immigration controls, it is reasonable to expect that any travel would be restricted, especially to Nigeria,” she said.

In the June 2022 report by the Ministerial Committee on the Issuance of Permits and Visas, of the 36 647 fraudulent applications detected, 12 177, or one-third, originated from Nigerians, underscoring the scale of the problem.

Ngobeni said ActionSA believes these alarming figures highlight widespread efforts to undermine South Africa’s immigration regime and sovereignty and, therefore, demands that the government not take a lax approach to enforcing our laws, especially when fraud is uncovered, as in the case of Chidimma Adetshina’s mother.

Last updated on September 13th, 2024 at 10:07 pm