Unathi Nkayi, a South African musician, radio and television broadcaster, recently spoke on MacG’s Podcast and Chill about the scandal surrounding former Miss South Africa 2024 contestant Chidimma Adetshina.
Chidimma Adetshina, a 23-year-old Miss SA 2024 competitor, generated a sensation on social media following her debut on television.
Nkayi stated that Adetshina, who reached the Top 11 in the Miss SA beauty pageant, was born and reared in South Africa.
“I believe the interesting thing for me is that Miss SA is privately held, which means it is not a government state or belongs to any public entity. Do we truly get a say? Do they care? “Don’t they care?” She said.
Nkayi further stated that she understood that many on social media were concerned about cultural representation, specifically who Adetshina would represent in this situation because she has no South African cultural background.
The 48-year-old former Idols South Africa judge stated, “I get why people are up in arms, but I also get why people are saying she is ours because she is and we raised her.”
She added that South Africans must learn to heal and forgive individuals from other African countries.
“There is a lot of unforgiving characters about us sometimes as South Africans because we are so triggered and hurt.”
“And I just think that we need to forgive and allow people to show remorse,” she told me.
South Africans questioned Adetshina’s identity and created petitions to remove her from the competition.
The situation swiftly escalated to the point where she and her family were probed by Home Affairs, who discovered prima facie evidence that Adetshina’s mother may have committed identity fraud 23 years earlier.
This discovery compelled Adetshina to withdraw from the competition. Two days before the Miss SA 2024 finale, she withdrew from the competition, citing safety concerns for herself and her family.
