“We can?t have Nigerians compete in Miss SA” – South Africa's minister of Sports, Arts and Culture says

South Africa’s Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has broken his silence over the debate surrounding Miss SA 2024 pageant finalist, Chidimma Adetshina’s eligibility to contest in the competition. 

The competition has been marred by xenophobic backlash directed at the 23-year-old Soweto-born law student and model over her nationality. 

Chidimma is a product of a Nigerian father and a South African mother of Mozambican descent.

A viral video of the finalist celebrating with the Nigerian members of her family surfaced online, sparking further outrage, with many South Africans calling for her to be disqualified from the competition. 

Responding to a question by an X user, Chris Excel, who asked how he feels about Chidimma and the viral video, the minister said Nigerians cannot compete in the pageant. 

McKenzie however, said he will get all the facts before commenting further.  

“I just returned from Paris and will definitely get more information tomorrow, we truly cannot have Nigerians compete in our Miss SA competition. I wanna get all facts before I comment but it gives funny vibes already,” McKenzie said. 

The minister further said that the recent video of Chidimma with other Nigerians, raised ‘legitimate suspicion’ when he was criticised by a social media user. 

“You want me to ignore people that voted for me? You want me to ignore a legitimate question? I will get the facts and return with an answer. This is not gossip, that video raises legitimate suspicion.”