South African woman’s claim of having 10 babies found fake

Team Udayavani, Jun 23, 2021, 11:00 AM IST

A South African woman claimed giving birth to ten babies and to have set a new world record. Reports cite that she has been admitted to a psychiatric ward for inventing the fake story.

Gosiame Thamara Sithole, 37-year-old hailing from the province of Gauteng claimed that she gave birth to decuplets– seven boys and three girls, who were conceived naturally, through C-section at a hospital in Pretoria on June 7. Further she asserted that the decuplets came as a surprise as she was expecting only 8 children.

As there wasn’t any proof of the existence of the 10 babies, speculations and doubts arose around her story.

The Department of National Health in South Africa claimed that its own research has concluded that there is no evidence that children are present.

Although a local media outlet insisted the births did take place and there has been a cover-up to disguise medical negligence.

As per reports, she was arrested at a relative’s house near Johannesburg in the early hours of June 17, who was later handed over to the social workers. She was then admitted to Tembisa Hospital’s psychiatric ward for a mental health assessment.

The police asserted that Sithole wasn’t arrested for a crime but was taken to the station after her relatives and partner reported her as missing.

Sithole had also accused the father of her children of trying to become a ‘millionaire’ from the story and taking donations from the public meant for the newborns.

Sithole’s lawyer Refiloe Mokoena has claimed that she is being held against her will and that she will apply for a court order to secure her release.