South African Officials Under Investigation For Alleged Identity Theft Linked To Adetshina’s Mother
The South African Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, commonly known as the Hawks, has launched an investigation into two officials from the Department of Home Affairs over their alleged involvement in an identity theft case concerning the mother of Chidimma Adetshina.
Chidimma, born in 2001 at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, has a Nigerian father of Igbo descent and a mother reportedly from Mozambique who later became a naturalized South African citizen. Recently, Chidimma’s eligibility to participate in the Miss South Africa beauty pageant sparked controversy, leading to calls for her disqualification on social media.
In response to the outcry, the South African Ministry of Home Affairs initiated an investigation, which raised suspicions that Adetshina’s mother might have committed fraud and identity theft. The controversy eventually led Chidimma to withdraw from the competition.
During a recent parliamentary session, it was revealed that the Hawks are now involved in the investigation. The Ministry of Home Affairs stated that they had located the individual whose identity was allegedly stolen and confirmed the authenticity of her citizenship documents. However, they could not locate any supporting documentation for Adetshina’s mother.
According to the ministry, Adetshina’s mother is suspected of having assumed the identity of a woman from Tshwane who was born in 1982 and also gave birth in 2001. This woman had applied for her identity document in Pretoria in 1995 but discovered three months later that the ID had been issued to someone in Johannesburg.
The investigation has so far implicated three Home Affairs officials in the alleged identity theft, with one of the suspects reported to have passed away. Constance Moitse, the head of Home Affairs’ counter-corruption unit, informed parliament that they are still awaiting a response from Adetshina’s mother.
“Her response to this letter will be crucial in determining the department’s final decision regarding the validity of the ID she currently holds,” Moitse stated.
