South Africa’s minister of Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has called on a Miss South Africa contestant of Nigerian descent to confirm her nationality, escalating a heated debate over her eligibility to represent the country.
Chidimma Adetshina, 23, has faced harsh, xenophobic criticism on social media following her selection as a finalist in the national beauty pageant in July. Many doubted her qualifications.
“Why can’t she just produce documents and say she’s South African?” Gayton McKenzie, a politician known for his harsh anti-immigration stance, said.
“There are beautiful South African young ladies that might be robbed of this opportunity”.
The pageant organisers stated that Adetshina, a law student, is a citizen of South Africa and possesses “both a South African identification and passport;” therefore, she “satisfies all the requirements for contestants’ eligibility.”
Adetshina, who will compete in the upcoming Miss South Africa finals, has previously told local media that she was born in Soweto to a Nigerian father and a South African mother of Mozambican descent.
South Africa provides citizenship by birth to individuals born after 1995.
Despite this, her involvement in the competition has fueled xenophobic attacks in the country, where previous attacks on immigrants have been both violent and fatal.
The discussion on social media and talk shows has drawn comments from politicians, celebrities, and regular people alike.
The leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party expressed its solidarity, saying attacks against her reflected the “remnants of apartheid and colonisation, where divisive ideologies continue to plague our society.”
“It is particularly troubling that previous contestants of foreign descent did not face similar scrutiny when they were white or Asian,” the party said in a statement.
The attitude towards individuals from other countries has grown more hostile lately in South Africa due to the persistently high levels of unemployment.
Even with the sluggish economic expansion, the most industrialised nation on the continent continues to draw millions of immigrants, primarily from other African countries.
“If she’s South African, I’ll be the first person to apologise,” said McKenzie, appointed minister in June, as his far-right Patriotic Alliance party joined a coalition government.