The family of a South African man whose girlfriend reportedly gave birth to 10 babies last week concluded in a statement released Tuesday that they do not exist until proven otherwise.
Last week, local media reported that Gosiame Sithole, 37, had delivered 10 babies — seven boys and three girls — by caesarean section at an undisclosed hospital in the capital Pretoria.
But the family of Tebogo Tsotetsi, the “father,” said in a statement he had confirmed to them that he has not seen the babies and had relied on his girlfriend, who called to inform him of their birth.
The statement further claims that Tsotetsi had made several attempts to visit Sithole and the babies at the hospital but she did disclose her whereabouts to him or inform him of the condition of the babies.
According to a report by South Africa’s “Eyewitness News” which revealed that the woman shows no signs of ever being pregnant or delivering a baby in the past two weeks.
Sources close to the investigation into the matter told Eyewitness News that Gosiame Sithole was medically examined by a medical team at the Thembisa Hospital in Johannesburg.
“The medical evaluation has shown that there was no pregnancy. It also shows that there are no physical scars to indicate a recent C-section,” a source said.
Pretoria News published a story last Tuesday reporting as fact that Sithole and her partner Tebogo Tsotetsi delivered decuplets breaking the Guinness World Record.
The report also said that 37-year-old Sithole had given birth to five babies vaginally and the others via a C-section.
The story gripped South Africans and the world because of its rarity. Banking details and requests for financial help were also published on the front page of the Pretoria News.
However, nine days after the supposed birth there has been no evidence presented to show that the babies were actually born.
The Gauteng Health Department released a statement last week saying they had no record of the decuplets being born at any of the province’s private and public facilities. The Department of Home Affairs also said that there had been no registration of 10 babies born to a single mother.
No medical doctor has also come forward to confirm that the babies were born.
Tsotetsi (the father) released a statement saying he believed that the babies were never born. However, Sithole (the mother) and Pretoria News have steadfastly claimed that the babies were in existence and blamed the government for an alleged cover up.
Eyewitness News understands that Sithole was detained under the Mental Healthcare Act, which allows for authorities to hold a person for at least 72 hours to do a psychiatric evaluation.
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