Supporters of the March and March movement gathered outside the Cape Town Regional Court today, Wednesday, August 19, to insist that beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina leave the country.
The march held as the court prepared to deliver judgment in Chidimma Adetshina’s legal battle over her immigration status in South Africa.
The protesters sang and chanted outside the court, with some calling for Adetshina to leave South Africa.
As Chidimma arrived at the court venue and was immediately swarmed by reporters and protesters. She had to run into the court to evade them.
Videos and reports from the scene showed March and March supporters protesting as the case was being heard.
Chidimma was a beauty queen in South Africa and would have represented the country in the Miss Universe contest but South Africans rejected her, claiming her father is Nigerian, therefore she is Nigerian.
The former Miss South Africa finalist was then chosen by Nigeria to contest in the Miss Universe Nigeria pageant and she won.
As South Africans protested today, they carried banners that read: “She claimed Nigeria and was crowned Ms Nigeria.”
“Illegal immigrants are a burden in our country,” another banner read.
Chidimma was arrested in June 2026 after South African authorities alleged that she had entered the country through the Lebombo border from Mozambique despite having previously been declared a prohibited person.
Adetshina is challenging the government’s attempt to detain her pending possible deportation.
Her legal team has disputed the authorities’ position, while the Cape Town Regional Court is expected to rule on the matter today.
The case has attracted significant public attention in South Africa and Nigeria, following the controversy surrounding Adetshina’s citizenship and her withdrawal from the 2024 Miss South Africa competition before later representing Nigeria at Miss Universe.
