Johnathan Paoli
THE African Transformation Movement (ATM) has welcomed the recent finding by the Home Affairs department regarding the investigation into the citizenship status of Miss SA contestant Chidimma Adetshina.
ATM spokesperson Zama Ntshona said on Thursday that the preliminary report by Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber which indicated that Adetshina’s mother possibly committed fraud and identity theft remained concerning.
After requests from convenors of the pageant to establish Adetshina’s bona fides, Schreiber announced on Wednesday that his department had found prima facie evidence of possible illegal actions by the contestant’s parents in securing their citizenship in the country.
Ntshona said his party had been consistently inquiring over the origins and status of the contestant’s parents and how they had entered the country and while the Home Affairs findings are a good start, more information was required in order to appreciate the extent of the possible crime that took place.
“The only thing that we are asking from the department, is that the department must probe further and give us a fuller picture of what actually transpired,” Ntshona said, adding that the investigation should have been started earlier, following the increasing outrage from across the country.
“There is at least thus far, reason to believe that the issue has been addressed well and is being handled properly,” Ntshona said.
ATM president Vuyo Zungula previously wrote a letter to the department, and he said his party was grateful for the response.
In a letter dated 6 August, Zungula outlined several questions relating to the matter, including where were Adetshina’s parents born, were they citizens of the country at the time of her birth, how did they obtain citizenship, was a Notice of Birth issued by the department, who are the officials involved in their obtaining citizenship.
Zungula said a timely response from the department remained crucial in addressing the speculation and confusion surrounding the outrage.
In addition, he defended the country from claims of xenophobia and said South Africa is one of the most integrated countries on the continent, where people from diverse backgrounds coexist peacefully, provided they are in the country legally and abide by the law.
“Every time we address criminality involving foreign nationals, we are mislabeled as xenophobic. This is a mischaracterization that we firmly reject,” the leader said.
Meanwhile, Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie welcomed the news, and said he was grateful for being vindicated following a backlash against him when he questioned Adetshina’s citizenship.
“I wanna thank all Patriotic South Africans who stood by me when I was called all sorts of names. Words will fail to adequately describe my gratitude,” he said.
McKenzie said he is currently attempting to communicate with the conveners of the pageant and that if identity theft has occurred, the victim’s mother needs to be contacted.
The Minister said it remained important to appreciate the impact that identity theft has on many South Africans, who suffer in a myriad of ways as a result.
“We know of cases where children committed suicide because they couldn’t register for varsity, couldn’t find a job, being married to strangers, being put into heavy debt, resorted to becoming criminals instead because a normal life was stolen at birth from them,” McKenzie said.
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