Chidimma Vanessa Onwe (file image)
Mckenzie: We truly can’t have Nigerians compete in our SA competition
By Valentine Amanze
South Africa has hit hard on Nigeria’s dwindling image as it disqualifies a Nigerian, Chidimma Vanessa Onwe, from contesting in the country’s Most Beautiful Lady contest, Miss South Africa 2024, even though she qualified by the rules of the organisers.
The South African Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, announced Chidimma’s ineligibility to compete after yielding to several xenophobic social media calls against her after emerging in the last Top 11 finalists.
The minister tweeted [X]: “We truly can’t have Nigerians compete in our SA competition. I want to get all the facts before I comment, but it’s giving funny vibes already.”
South African Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture, Gayton McKenzie
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Though no official reaction yet from the Nigerian government, Chidimma Onwe is a 23-year-old law student from South Africa’s Varsity College in Cape Town.
She has become the focal point of a xenophobic storm, accused of not being “South African enough.”
Chidimma was born in Soweto, South Africa, to a Nigerian father and a Mozambican mother with Zulu heritage.
The contest organisers confirmed that Chidimma was fully qualified to compete, as she is a well-documented citizen of South Africa, not an illegal immigrant.
In South Africa, citizenship can be obtained by birth, registration, or naturalization.
By being born in South Africa, Chidimma is a South African citizen.
Despite advancing to the final stage of the competition, an online petition calling for her disqualification has garnered 7,500 signatures.
Interestingly, the previous Miss South Africa, Natasha Joubert, had a Caucasian father, yet her ethnicity was never questioned.
A Twitter account purportedly representing Chidimma issued a statement on her behalf, but Chidimma’s Instagram account clearly states she is not on Twitter.
Chidimma’s participation in the contest has sparked an intriguing debate, underscoring that ethnicity and citizenship are distinct concepts.
A citizen of a country has all the rights thereof, regardless of their parents’ ethnicity.
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