Africa’s finest: Chidimma bags first princess in Mexico
Former 2024 Miss South Africa finalist Chidimma Adetshina was crowned Miss Universe runner-up in the early hours of on Sunday, making her the finest woman on the continent.
The 22-year-old model wowed on the stage at the pageant in Mexico City, which saw Miss Denmark Victoria Kjær Theilvig taking the overall Miss Universe crown while Mexico’s María Fernanda Beltrán Figueroa took the second runner-up position.
The beauty queen has had a year vol drama and controversy.
In August, Adetshina was forced to withdraw from the 2024 Miss South Africa pageant on the eve of the finale, after SA Home Affairs alleged that her parents had committed identity fraud to make her a South African citizen around the time of her birth.
The beauty queen was born and raised in Mzansi, but her mother is a Mozambican national and her father is Nigerian.
Adetshina fled to Nigeria, whose embassy granted her a diplomatic passport, and she was also given the opportunity to compete in the Miss Universe Nigeria pageant, which she won in late August.
South African organisations, including Progressive Forces for South Africa, had petitioned for her to be excluded from the Miss Universe Pageant, while SA Home Affairs announced in late last month that it had begun the process to revoke her SA identity and travel documents.
Chidimma and mother face potential fraud charges as Home Affairs moves to revoke documents.
While the official case rumbles on, Adetshina took to her Instagram account to thank her fans - and no doubt threw some shade on her many internet trolls.
She wrote: “Many wondered what I did not stop. Many asked Why not let it be for now? Your life is at risk.” Some questioned why isn’t she giving up? Does she crave the clout?”
“I sat back, overwhelmed by so many unanswered questions as life moved faster than I could process. But do you know what? My dreams kept me afloat.”
SA fans, meanwhile, had no one to cheer for after Miss SA winner Mia le Roux on Friday withdrew from the Miss Universe competition due to health concerns.
SABC 3 also cancelled the live broadcast due to our queen not being there.
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