Woman Who Claims She Gave Birth to 10 Babies Admitted to a Hospital for a Mental Health Assessment
The South African woman who claimed she gave birth to 10 babies was admitted to the Thembisa Hospital on Gauteng’s East Rand in Johannesburg for a mental health assessment.
Eyewitness News reported that Gosiame Sithole, who claimed to have given birth to 10 babies, was detained by medical officials under the South African Mental Healthcare Act, allowing authorities to hold a person for at least 72 hours for a psychiatric evaluation.
The New York Post reported that her attorney, Refiloe Mokoena, said she was held against her will. According to Mokoena, Sithole had declined the evaluation as she felt she was of a strong mind.
Gosiame Sithole, 37, pictured in a Twitter video. | Photo: Twitter/pietrampedi
Mokoena accompanied Sithole to the hospital and claimed that on arrival at Tembisa Hospital, officials took her straight to the hospital's psychiatric ward and did not allow the psychologists and lawyers she requested to be present.
The evaluation comes after sources close to the investigation disclosed to the outlet that Sithole was examined by doctors for signs of pregnancy. However, the doctors found no evidence to suggest she had given birth two weeks ago.
A stethoscope on a medical note pad. | Photo: Pixabay/Darko Stojanovic
The source revealed the medical examination found no evidence of a pregnancy and that "there are no physical scars to indicate a recent C-section." The evidence contradicts Sithole's outlandish claims.
When the story of the 10-baby birth first broke out, the 37-year-old said she gave birth to five of the babies vaginally, and the rest were born through a Caesarean section.
In the multiple Twitter videos, [Sithole] stated that her boyfriend, Tebogo Tsotetsi, had expected to get wealthy.
However, nine days after claiming she had given birth to decuplets, there was no evidence of the children. In fact, there was an overwhelming amount of evidence that contradicted her claims.
Firstly, the spokesperson, Tertia Kruger, of the Mediclinic Medforum Hospital in Pretoria, the hospital where Sithole claimed to deliver the babies, stated, "none of our facilities were involved in the obstetric care of this patient or her decuplets."
Sithole also claimed the babies were moved to the Steve Biko Hospital after their birth. However, Dr. Mathabo Mathebula, the hospital CEO, did not indicate that the babies were treated at the hospital when he spoke to Radio 702.
Later, the Gauteng Government said in a statement after the matter was brought to their attention, an investigation was conducted, which found no evidence of such a birth happening at a hospital in the province.
The Eyewitness News report of Sithole's medical examination is the latest development in this ongoing saga. It comes shortly after South African Journalist Piet Rampedi shared videos of Sithole addressing the situation.
In the multiple Twitter videos, she stated that her boyfriend, Tebogo Tsotetsi, had expected to get wealthy from the story of their ten babies and that she was hurt that he and his family denied their existence.