fb
  • home Home
  • keyboard_arrow_right NEWS
  • keyboard_arrow_right Posts
  • keyboard_arrow_rightMore questions than answers – Everything we know about the ‘Tembisa 10’

More questions than answers – Everything we know about the ‘Tembisa 10’

By Tamlyn Canham

UPDATE: The Tsotetsi family has issued a statement about the alleged birth of the Tembisa 10. More details can be found at the end of this post.

A week after news broke that a Gauteng woman gave birth to 10 babies, South Africans are yet to see the decuplets and have more questions than answers.

According to several reports, Gosiame Thamara Sithole gave birth to the babies at a hospital in Pretoria.  The record-breaking birth earned her a Guinness World Record title.

Sithole’s story made headlines all over the world. But excitement soon turned to confusion when government officials appeared clueless about the birth.

Officials took a few days to track down the woman.  That is when things start to get a bit confusing.

Where are the babies?

Sithole, and the father of the babies, Tebogo Tsotetsi, did not share any pictures of the children. The Tembisa couple told Pretoria News that they did not want to show their faces for safety and cultural reasons.

Government can’t find the babies

South Africans soon learned that health officials had no idea that a local woman had given birth to 10 babies.

Officials appealed for help tracking down the woman.

“Government has noted media reports and social media posts alleging that a South African woman has given birth to 10 babies and reportedly broken the world record.

“The posts attribute the birth of the babies to Gosiame Thamara Sithole from Gauteng,” Phumla Williams,  spokesperson in the Presidency, said.

According to one report, Gauteng’s Social Development Department confirmed that the babies were born, but later made an about-turn,  saying it would only confirm the exact number when officials meet with the mother.

“As the department, we confirm that the mother has been a client of ours since 2016. However, due to an agreement with the family, the mother and her babies are in a place of safety to give her time to bond with the children and for her body to heal,” spokesperson Feziwe Ndwayana was quoted as saying.

South Africans unite for a national baby shower

Scores of people and businesses came together to donate food, money and clothes to the parents. Survé Philanthropies reportedly donated R1 million to help the ‘Tembia 10’ over a period of time.

More confusion about the babies’ birth

Several hospitals have confirmed that the ‘Tembisa 10’ were not born at their facilities. Gauteng officials could not find any record of the babies being born.

“Unless if they were born in the air, we checked both private and public hospitals and no-one knows about the case. Another question is, where are the obstetricians who delivered the babies and the paediatrician who is looking after them? No-one is coming forward,” a spokesperson told TimesLIVE.

Meanwhile, Sithole first told Pretoria News that the seven boys and three girls were born naturally, but Tsotetsi later clarified that they were born via C-section.

Is Tsotetsi married to another woman?

Just when South Africans thought the story couldn’t get any crazier, a woman claiming to be Tsotetsi’s real wife spoke out.  Sibongile Gxekwa told News24 that she started seeing Tsotetsi when she was 15.

She says they have three children together and produced pictures as proof of their relationship. Gxekwa says Tsotetsi started “secretly” meeting with Sithole behind last year.

Decuplets, mom ‘missing’

Sithole’s family allegedly opened a missing person’s case with Tembisa South police last week Thursday, after she allegedly went missing.  But she reportedly turned up at Steve Biko Academic Hospital on Saturday in search of her babies.

The hospital’s CEO, Dr Mathabo Mathebula, told News24 that Sithole told staff members that she gave birth at Louis Pasteur Hospital.

The babies, she allegedly claimed, were then transferred to Steve Biko Hospital. Mathebula told the publication that they called Louis Pasteur hospital but management denied the babies were born there.

The couple had originally told Pretoria News that Sithole gave birth at  Mediclinic Medforum Hospital. But the facility has no record of the birth.

Calls to stop donations

Tsotetsi has reportedly asked people to stop donating money until further notice.

“I appreciate the financial support that we have been getting from members of the public, but I also would like to appeal to the public to stop making money deposits into our accounts until members of the community have seen the babies,” Tsotetsi told Pretoria News in a WhatsApp message.

Tsotetsi is now suggesting that he has not seen the babies at all as Sithole told him he was not allowed to visit them in hospital due to COVID-19.

According to a BBC report, Guinness World Records officials are investigating Sithole’s case before confirming whether she holds the record for most babies delivered at a single birth to survive.

UPDATE  – Family issues a statement

The Tsotetsi family issued a statement on Tuesday stating that they have not seen the 10 babies since their alleged birth.

“Tebogo confirmed that he has not seen the decuplets and relied on his girlfriend who called to inform him of their birth. He made several attempts to visit his girlfriend and the babies but she has failed to disclose her whereabouts and the condition of their babies,” the statement read.

The family says there is currently no “proof of the decuplets existence”.

“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.”

Sithole’s whereabouts are allegedly unknown.

Written by: Tamlyn

Similar posts

QUICK LINKS

UpComing Shows

Connect with Kaya 959

Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram Linkedin

DownLoad Our Mobile App

google play store
apple app store icon
Huawei App Gallery Icon

Privacy Policy

THIS PRIVACY STATEMENT FORMS PART OF KAYA 959’S TERMS OF USE POLICY. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH ANY TERM OF THIS PRIVACY STATEMENT, YOU MUST CEASE YOUR ACCESS OF THIS WEBSITE IMMEDIATELY. 

POPIA Act – To promote the protection of personal information processed by public and private bodies; to introduce certain conditions so as to establish minimum requirements for the processing of personal information; to provide for the establishment of an Information Regulator to exercise certain powers and to perform certain duties and functions in terms of this Act and the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000; to provide for the issuing of codes of conduct; to provide for the rights of persons regarding unsolicited electronic communications and automated decision making; to regulate the flow of personal information across the borders of the Republic; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

RECOGNISING THAT—

  • section 14 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, provides that everyone has the right to privacy;
  • the right to privacy includes a right to protection against the unlawful collection, retention, dissemination and use of personal information;
  • the State must respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights;

AND BEARING IN MIND THAT—

  • consonant with the constitutional values of democracy and openness, the need for economic and social progress, within the framework of the information society, requires the removal of unnecessary impediments to the free flow of information, including personal information;

AND IN ORDER TO—

  • regulate, in harmony with international standards, the processing of personal information by public and private bodies in a manner that gives effect to the right to privacy subject to justifiable limitations that are aimed at protecting other rights and important interests,
  1. Definitions and Interpretation

1.1.“Personal Information” means information relating to an identifiable, living, natural person and where it is applicable, identifiable, existing juristic person, including all information as defined in the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013. 

1.2  Parliament assented to POPIA on 19 November 2013. The commencement date of section 1, Part A of Chapter 5, section 112 and section 113 was 11 April 2014. The commencement date of the other sections was 1 July 2020 (with the exception of section 110 and 114(4). The President of South Africa has proclaimed the POPI commencement date to be 1 July 2020.

 
1.3. “Processing” means the creation, generation, communication, storage, destruction of personal information as more fully defined in the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013.  

1.4. “You” or the “user” means any person who accesses and browses this website for any purpose. 

1.4. “Website” means the website of the KAYA 959 at URL www.kaya959.co.za or such other URL as KAYA 959 may choose from time to time.   

  1. Status and Amendments

2.1. KAYA 959 respects your privacy. This privacy policy statement sets out KAYA 959’s information gathering and dissemination practices in respect of the Website. 

2.2. This Privacy Policy governs the processing of personal information provided to KAYA 959 through your use of the Website. 

2.3. Please note that, due to legal and other developments, KAYA 959 may amend these terms and conditions from time to time.  

  1. Processing of Personal Information

3.1. By providing your personal information to KAYA 959 you acknowledge that it has been collected directly from you and consent to its processing by KAYA 959. 

3.2. Where you submit Personal Information (such as name, address, telephone number and email address) via the website (e.g. through completing any online form) the following principles are observed in the processing of that information: 

3.2.1. KAYA 959 will only collect personal information for a purpose consistent with the purpose for which it is required. The specific purpose for which information is 
collected will be apparent from the context in which it is requested. 

3.2.2. KAYA 959 will only process personal information in a manner that is adequate, relevant and not excessive in the context of the purpose for which it is processed. 

3.2.3. Personal information will only be processed for a purpose compatible with that for which it was collected, unless you have agreed to an alternative purpose in writing or KAYA 959 is permitted in terms of national legislation of general application dealing primarily with the protection of personal information. 

3.2.4. KAYA 959 will keep records of all personal Information collected and the specific purpose for which it was collected for a period of 1 (one) year from the date on which it was last used. 

3.2.5. KAYA 959 will not disclose any personal information relating to you to any third party unless your prior written agreement is obtained or KAYA 959 is required to do so by law. 

3.2.6. If personal information is released with your consent KAYA 959 will retain a record of the information released, the third party to which it was released, the reason for the release and the date of release, for a period of 1 (one) year from the date on which it was last used. 

3.2.7. KAYA 959 will destroy or delete any personal information that is no longer needed by KAYA 959 for the purpose it was initially collected, or subsequently processed. 

3.3. Note that, as permitted by the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, KAYA 959 may use personal information collected to compile profiles for statistical purposes. No information contained in the profiles or statistics will be able to be linked to any specific user.    

  1. Collection of anonymous data

4.1. KAYA 959 may use standard technology to collect information about the use of this website. This technology is not able to identify individual users but simply allows KAYA 959 to collect statistics. 

4.2. KAYA 959 may utilise temporary or session cookies to keep track of users’ browsing habits. A cookie is a small file that is placed on your hard drive in order to keep a record of your interaction with this website and facilitate user convenience. 

4.2.1. Cookies by themselves will not be used to identify users personally but may be used to compile identified statistics relating to use of services offered or to provide KAYA 959 with feedback on the performance of this website. 

4.2.2. The following classes of information may be collected in respect of users who have enabled cookies: 

4.2.2.1. The browser software used; 

4.2.2.2. IP address; 

4.2.2.3. Date and time of activities while visiting the website; 

4.2.2.4. URLs of internal pages visited; and 

4.2.2.5. referrers. 

4.3. If you do not wish cookies to be employed to customize your interaction with this website it is possible to alter the manner in which your browser handles cookies. Please note that, if this is done, certain services on this website may not be available. 

  1. Security

5.1. KAYA 959 takes reasonable measures to ensure the security and integrity of information submitted to or collected by this website, but cannot under any circumstances be held liable for any loss or other damage sustained by you as a result of unlawful access to or dissemination of any personal information by a third party. 

  1. Links to other websites

6.1. KAYA 959 has no control over and accepts no responsibility for the privacy practices of any third party websites to which hyperlinks may have been provided and KAYA 959 strongly recommends that you review the privacy policy of any website you visit before using it further. 

  1. Queries

7.1. If you have any queries about this privacy policy please contact us by emailing [email protected]