Chidinma Adetshina might reapply for a new ID or lose her citizenship in SA
The Department of Home Affairs and the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (the Hawks) have dug deeper into the identity fraud case involving former Miss South Africa finalist, Chidimma Adetshina.
The model withdrew from the competition after the department found out that her mother had stolen an innocent woman’s identity years ago.
On Tuesday, Home Affairs said three officials who were involved in the corruption have been identified but one of them had died.
The innocent mother who was a victim of the identity fraud has also been identified.
The mother, born in 1982, applied for her ID document in 1995 in Tshwane. When she went to collect her ID in Tshwane, officials informed her that it was to be collected in Johannesburg, where she had not applied for it.
She later gave birth to a child in 2001. When she attempted to register her child’s birth, she was informed that a child had already been registered under her ID number. That child was Adetshina.
The mother spent months trying to obtain a birth certificate for her child. The department eventually issued her a new ID number, allowing her to finally register her child.
The Department of Home Affairs said that it visited the mother whose ID was stolen in Tshwane. The details in her initial ID match those in the department’s records for Adetshina’s mother.
Home Affairs’ counter corruption unit head Advocate Constance Moitse told members of Parliament that Adetshina’s mother is yet to give response to the letter following the investigation.
“Her response to this letter will be crucial in determining the department’s final decision regarding the validity of the ID she currently holds “.
Meanwhile, it was said that if Chidinma Adetshina was born in South Africa, then she will need to apply for a new ID.
