The walls have closed in for beauty queen Chidimma Adetshina and her family, who are being accused of fraudulently obtaining South African citizenship. This morning, Home Affairs detained Chidimma Adetshina's mother, Anabela Rungo, in Cape Town. Investigators from the Department of Home Affairs, assisted by the South African Police Service (SAPS), were at her Cape Town home.
DEFYING LAW
Leading up to the arrest, the department deployed resources including archival research, visits to hospitals, and site visits to verify information. Although Chidimma 's mother may be guilty, the beauty queen could not have participated in the alleged unlawful actions of her mother, as she was an infant at the time of the activities in 2001. The South African documentation belonging to the mother of former Miss SA contestant, Miss Universe Nigeria 2024 winner and first runner-up at the Miss Universe 2024 pageant in Mexico was withdrawn in September 2024 after the department learnt it had been fraudulently obtained, rendering her ineligible to continue residing in South Africa. In a statement from the Department of Home Affairs, she defied the law. "In an apparent act of brazen disregard for the legal consequences of her conduct, it appears that Ms. Rungo has defied her undesirable status through her Mozambican passport. Investigations are ongoing into further potential misrepresentation and fraudulent conduct."
THE ARREST
The department stated that during the operation this morning, investigators from the Counter Corruption and Immigration Services branches of the department also found Adetshina's under-aged child residing with Rungo. "After being processed by Home Affairs over her apparent illegal continued residence in South Africa, Ms. Rungo will be handed over to the SAPS as she is also the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation," the statement reads. "Home Affairs is further liaising with the Department of Social Development and SAPS Child Protection Unit as it relates to protecting the interests of the underage child."
