The ‘husband’ of Gosiame Thamara Sithole, a South African woman who reportedly gave birth to 10 children last week in Pretoria, has expressed doubts over the children’s existence.
Reports of birth of decuplets made headlines globally last week when it was reported that Sithole broke the Guinness World Record for the most children delivered at a single birth to survive.
Sithole, a Gauteng woman, was reported to have delivered her decuplets in Pretoria on June 7, and supposedly broke the record previously held by Malian Halima Cissé, who gave birth to nine children in Morocco in May.
Sithole, 37 and a retail store manager, had six-year-old twins before winning global attention after her latest ‘birth.’
The South African government had said it could not confirm the authenticity of the birth hours after the media reported it.
Sithole’s ‘husband’ Tebogo Tsotetsi and his relatives said they could not find the mother and her babies after her reported birth.
The Gauteng Provincial Government also said it combed all local health facilities and found no record showing decuplets were born.
According to Eyewitness News, officials of the Gauteng Provincial Government later found Sithole but could not confirm how many children she had.
In a statement on Monday, the Tsotetsi family alleged they had not seen the decuplets and their mother since her reported delivery.
The family claimed in the statement titled, ‘Family Statement On The Non-existent Of The Tembisa Decuplets’ that Tsotetsi had relied on Sithole’s call notifying him of the birth.
Tsotetsi had made several attempts to visit Sithole and the babies, but she had failed to disclose her whereabouts and the condition of their babies, said the family.
The family instructed donors and other well-meaning individuals who might want to support the children to withhold their aid.
“The current uncertainties and public discourse about the decuplets is of major concern to the family, especially in the absence of any proof of the decuplets existence other than telephonic and WhatsApp messages from the mother.
“The family has resolved and concluded that there are no decuplets born between Tebogo Tsotetsi and Gosiame Sithole until proven otherwise and wishes to apologise for any inconvenience and embarrassment…
“We appreciate the public interests and support for the decuplets, and with no proof of their existence, we firmly believe it’s in the interests of everyone to conclude that they do not exist until proven otherwise. We will now shift.”
Available facts show there are issues between Tsotsetsi and Sithole.
Tsotsetsi was not the only person in his family who rejoiced at the birth of his ‘decuplets’ last Monday. His entire family did.
His family had issued a statement Wednesday night thanking South Africans for their support over the birth.
Totsetsi, who led his family to issue the latest statement, had told IOL: “There are not many words I have to express how I feel, but in reality, I am still shocked, excited and I feel blessed and I feel overwhelmed by the support that I am getting.”
IOL owns the Pretoria News that exclusively reported the birth.
Totsetsi, who led his family to issue the latest statement, had told IOL: “There are not many words I have to express how I feel, but in reality, I am still shocked, excited and I feel blessed and I feel overwhelmed by the support that I am getting.”
IOL owns the Pretoria News that exclusively reported the birth.
Though the Pretoria authority claimed they could not find any decuplets in any public or private facility in the region, Gauteng’s Social and Welfare Department said Sithole was found with her babies. The department, however, refused to disclose the number of babies born by Sithole.
In a twist of events, Sibongile Gxekwa, who claimed to be real Totsetsi’s wife, accused him of being a cheat after the birth.
She claimed Totsetsi impregnated Sithole out of wedlock.
“When he started his escapades of going out at night, I confronted him about the cheating…. At the time, I didn’t know who she was.
He has not told me anything about his new 10 children. He has ordered me to not speak to the media about this matter,” Gxekwa said.
Totsetsi and Sithole urged Pretoria News to keep report until after birth
It is not clear when Pretoria News conducted the exclusive interview with Sithole and Totsetsi, but there was an agreement: the report must be delayed till after the babies were born.
The duo cited cultural and religious reasons for their plea.
Gxekwa, who claimed to be Totsetsi’s wife, also said her husband warned her not to reveal the details of the pregnancy to anyone.