Conflict of Interest? Chidimma Adetshina's Lawyer Also Advises Home Affairs Minister on Immigration

• Stefanie de Saude-Darbandi was appointed to the Immigration Advisory Board by Minister Leon Schreiber in April 2025
• The same lawyer represents Chidimma Adetshina and her mother in a legal battle against Home Affairs
• South Africans are now questioning whether de Saude-Darbandi faces a serious conflict of interest

SOUTH AFRICA - South Africans have raised serious questions about a potential conflict of interest after it emerged that Chidimma Adetshina's lawyer also serves on a government body that advises the very department she is fighting in court.

Stefanie de Saude-Darbandi, the attorney representing Adetshina and her mother in their ongoing legal dispute with the Department of Home Affairs, was appointed to the national Immigration Advisory Board (IAB) in April 2025 by Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber.

A dual role that has raised eyebrows

The IAB is a 13-member statutory body tasked with advising the Minister on immigration policy, regulatory changes, and the efficient running of the department. De Saude-Darbandi's firm positions itself as a thought leader in South African immigration and citizenship law, and she has been vocal in her opposition to anti-immigration sentiment, including writing a public letter against the 30 June anti-immigration protests.

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Critics online have pointed out the contradiction at the heart of her two roles: by day, she helps shape government immigration policy from the inside; by night, she takes that same government to court on behalf of clients it has flagged as illegal foreign nationals.

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What Home Affairs claims vs what the legal team argues

Home Affairs has maintained that Adetshina is an undocumented foreign national who should be detained pending deportation. The department also alleged that she obtained Nigerian passports for herself and her minor child, and that she entered South Africa through Mozambique after applying for a South African visa in Lagos.

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"Nigeria can't be that bad": SA gent weighs in on Chidimma Adetshina's deportation case, SA reacts

De Saude-Darbandi's legal team has pushed back firmly. They argued that Adetshina was born in South Africa, has no meaningful ties to Nigeria, and poses no flight risk. The team also contended that Home Affairs had not carried out a fair investigation before declaring her documents invalid, noting that her citizenship status is still being challenged in a separate High Court matter.

Social media users have described the situation as hypocrisy, with many questioning how an adviser to the government on immigration can simultaneously represent clients in cases directly opposing the department's position.

South African weighs in on Adetshina's immigration problem

Briefly News reported that a South African man questioned why Adetshina wants to remain in the country instead of returning to Nigeria. He also referenced unrelated political commentary about Nigeria’s leadership. He weighed in on Chidimma Adetshina’s fight to remain in the country after her arrest in June 2026 for being in the country illegally.

Source: Briefly News