The family of a South African man whose girlfriend reportedly gave birth to 10 children last week concluded in a statement released on Tuesday that they do not exist until proven otherwise.
Last week, local media reported that Gosiame Sithole, 37, had delivered ten children – seven boys and three girls – by caesarean section at an undiscovered hospital in the capital Pretoria. But Tebogo Tsotetsi’s family, the “father”, said in a statement that he had confirmed to them that he had not seen the children and had trusted 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 children at the hospital, but she revealed her whereabouts or informed him of the children’s condition. Sithole’s “miracle birth” is believed to have set a new Guinness World Record after the news of a Malian woman born nonuplets in Morocco last month excited the world.
However, secrecy, Sithole, her boyfriend and his sister Mathapelo Tsotetsi had left the country, wondering if the ten miracle babies existed. Tebogo Tsotetsi and his sister Mathapelo told the media last week that the ten children would only be shown to the world at a suitable time.
“According to our cultural beliefs, infants and pregnancies are very fragile things. We usually do not like to focus (on) and reveal such things, especially now that these children are premature and still in incubators,” Mathapelo told local broadcaster Enca at the the time, when the news anchor asked her when the world would see the children.
Tebogo told the Independent Media consortium last Wednesday that he had cried and walked around his house alone when he heard the news about the ten children being born. He also said he was grateful that God had chosen him to be the father of the babies, especially during a difficult time in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic.
The family concluded that the current uncertainty and the general discussion about the decouplets are of the utmost importance to them, especially in the absence of evidence for their existence, apart from mother and text messages.
“The family has resolved and concluded that there are no decouples born between Tebogo Tsotetsi and Gosiame Sithole, until proven otherwise,” it said. It also apologized for any inconvenience and embarrassment.
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