Miss South Africa contest in turmoil as finalist’s mother accused of fraud

South African government joins row over Chidimma Adetshina's heritage with suggestion mother may have committed identity theft

South Africa's national beauty pageant has been thrown into turmoil, after the government accused the mother of a contestant who suffered a torrent of online abuse over her Nigerian heritage of fraud and identity theft.

Chidimma Adetshina, 23, has been the subject of vicious, xenophobic attacks on social media since she was announced as a finalist in Miss South Africa in July, with many, including cabinet ministers, questioning her credentials.