Online Reporter
Miss Universe Nigeria and former Miss SA finalist, Chidimma Adetshina’s ongoing immigration court case has been postponed to Wednesday, August 19 by the Cape Town Regional Court.
This comes after the Western Cape High Court found that magistrates do not have jurisdiction to issue warrants of arrest for immigration detention, and that only immigration officers have that power.
The Department of Home Affairs is seeking to detain the controversial beauty queen for the purpose of deportation, as it argued that even though the defence cited measures to legalise herself, she doesn’t have the necessary paperwork.
The state also argued that Adetshina still holds a South African passport and has allegedly refused to hand it over.
However, her legal team has argued that it is ready to proceed with the matter and that the Department of Home Affairs brought it before the court; therefore, they should be ready to proceed.
Furthermore, her lawyers also submitted an affidavit in court last week, outlining the steps she had taken to legalise her status in the country.
Adetshina also revealed to the court that she has no other home besides South Africa.
The court, however, was shown documents proving that the 25-year-old can live in Nigeria.
The matter has been postponed for judgment by the presiding magistrate, Reema Khorana.
Adetshina was arrested last month after allegedly entering SA illegally through the Lebombo border from Mozambique, and authorities found her and her minor son living in the country without legal immigration status.
Her immigration matter began back in 2024 when she first entered the Miss SA competition after the public asked the Home Affairs department to verify her citizenship.
Adetshina breaks her silence amid ongoing court battle:
A few hours after appearing in court, Adetshina took to Instagram and opened up about the state of her well-being currently amid her ongoing legal woes.
She wrote in the video that she is tired, burnt out, and depressed. However, she will not give up.
“Exhausted – yes. Burnt out – yes. Depressed – yes. Will I give up? NO!,” she captioned the video.
This is the first time that Adetshina has addressed the matter since her case began – IOL.
