South African authorities in trouble over identity theft allegations against Adetshina's mother

The South African Priority Crime Investigations Directorate (Hawks) has begun investigating two Home Affairs officials for their alleged involvement in the identity theft case against the mother of Chidimma Adetshina.

Chidimma was born in 2001 in Soweto at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. Her father is of Igbo descent and originally from Nigeria. According to some reports, her mother is Mozambican and a naturalised South African citizen.

The model's eligibility to participate in this year's Miss South Africa pageant caused controversy; some X-users called for her disqualification.

The controversy sparked an investigation by the South African Department of Home Affairs, which alleged that Adetshina's mother may have committed fraud and identity theft.

After the investigation, Chidimma decided to withdraw her participation in the beauty pageant.

At a recent meeting, the Home Affairs Committee of the South African Parliament was informed that Hawks is now involved in the investigation.

The ministry said the person whose identity was allegedly stolen had been tracked down and his citizenship documents verified.

However, it was said that no supporting documents for Adetshina's mother could be found.

The ministry said Adetshina's mother may have assumed the identity of a woman from Tshwane born in 1982. The woman also gave birth to a child in 2001.

The DHA said the woman applied for her permit in Pretoria in 1995.

When she returned three months later to collect the ID, she found that it was issued to someone in Johannesburg.

The ministry also announced that it had identified three interior officials involved in the alleged identity theft, but one of the suspects had died.

Constance Moitse, head of the Interior Ministry's anti-corruption unit, told MPs that they were still waiting for a response from Adetshina's mother.

“Her response to this letter will be crucial to the department's final decision regarding the validity of the ID card she currently holds,” she said.