A beauty queen who found herself at the centre of a citizenship row in South Africa has come second in the Miss Universe competition – representing Nigeria.
Chidimma Adetshina sparked controversy earlier this year after she attempted to compete for Miss South Africa.
Although she has South African citizenship, due to her father being Nigerian, her participation in the competition raised questions and she later dropped out.
She was then invited to run for Miss Universe Nigeria – a beauty pageant to decide who would represent the country in the Miss Universe contest.
Adetshina won that, and at the Miss Universe contest at the weekend the 23-year-old finished runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjær Theilvig.
It is the first time a Danish contestant has been crowned Miss Universe.
Miss Denmark Victoria Kjær Theilvig was crowned Miss Universe. Pic: AP
Miss Mexico finished in third place.
Miss South Africa – Mia Le Roux – dropped out of the competition citing health concerns.
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‘It gives funny vibes’
When Adetshina ran for Miss South Africa in the summer, some people, including a government minister, opposed her participation because of her heritage, triggering a national row.
South Africa’s minister of sports, arts and culture Gayton McKenzie waded into the dispute, posting on X: “We truly cannot have Nigerians compete in our Miss SA competition. I wanna get all facts before I comment but it gives funny vibes already.”
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The nation’s home affairs officials became involved after Miss South Africa organisers asked the department to investigate Adetshina’s nationality.
They discovered her mother “may have” committed “fraud and identity theft” but “Adetshina could not have participated in the alleged unlawful actions of her mother, as she was an infant at the time”.
The department also said it was looking into whether the allegations could impact Adetshina’s citizenship status.
Adetshina pulled out of the contest for the “safety and well-being” of herself and her family.