The Department of Home Affairs says it has received an official request to inquire into the citizenship of 2024 Miss SA contestant, Chidimma Adetshina, according to News24.

In a post on X yesterday, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said the department received an official request from the organisers of the pageant on Monday.

Schreiber said the request included consent from the contestant.

The controversy surrounding Adetshina's participation in this year's pageant stemmed from the 23-year-old's birth to a Nigerian father and a SA mother of Mozambican descent.

Schreiber's post stated that based on the voluntarily request and the required consent, they are working to verify and compile the required information.

Schreiber said if transgressions are found in this case, they will be handled in strict accordance with legal prescripts.

‘If not, we will accordingly inform the requesters. We will also keep the public informed on the outcome of the assessment.’

Full News24 report

Sport, Arts & Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has been criticised over his remarks about Adetshina, but he is not backing down.

Born in Soweto to a Nigerian father and a mother of Mozambican descent, Adetshina has faced intense scrutiny on social media.

Last week McKenzie said: ‘We cannot have Nigerians competing in our Miss SA competition.’

Despite a backlash and being questioned on whether he fact-checked Adetshina's background before commenting, he did not apologise.

‘When you avail yourself to represent South Africans, you are willingly opening yourself to scrutiny. South Africans shouldn’t be shamed and accused because they are asking necessary questions of the lady who wants to represent them as Miss SA,’ he said yesterday.

Patriotic Alliance deputy leader Kenny Kunene has backed his leader, announcing plans to seek legal avenues to challenge Adetshina’s bid for the title.

The Miss SA organisation has not commented on the spat and the winner will be announced in Pretoria this weekend.

Full TimesLIVE report