First published June 28, 2021.
Photo: Gosiame Thamara Sithole and Teboho Tsotetsi. Credit: Thobile Mathonsi/African News Agency (ANA).
No, a South African woman did not give birth to ten babies in June 2021. The story of the so-called “Tembisa 10” went around the world in a matter of hours, but investigations by the Gauteng provincial government and, later, South Africa’s Public Protector found no evidence that the births ever happened. No hospital had any record of the deliveries, and no babies were ever produced.
The case became one of South Africa’s most talked-about media failures. Here is how the claim started, how it unravelled, and what it teaches about checking extraordinary news.
The claim that went viral
On 8 June 2021, the Pretoria News, part of the Independent Media group that also runs the IOL news website, published a report by its editor Piet Rampedi. It said that Gosiame Thamara Sithole, a 37-year-old from Tembisa east of Johannesburg, had delivered decuplets by caesarean section the previous evening. If true, it would have beaten the world record of nine babies set in Mali only a month earlier.
The story included a photograph of Sithole visibly pregnant and an interview with her partner, Teboho Tsotetsi. It reportedly reached the paper through a church connection. Within hours it had been picked up by outlets worldwide. A local mayor publicly congratulated the family, and well-wishers began sending money. Independent Media itself reportedly pledged R1 million to the family.
Why doubts appeared so quickly
Journalists and health officials noticed problems almost immediately. The hospital where the births supposedly took place was never named clearly at first. No doctors came forward. No photographs of the newborns appeared. Ten premature infants would have needed intensive neonatal care in specialist units, which would be hard to hide.
Tsotetsi himself reportedly admitted he had not seen the babies. When the paper eventually named Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria as the place of birth, alleging that staff there had been negligent, the Gauteng health department responded sharply. Its statement called the claims “false, unsubstantiated” and said they damaged the reputation of the hospital and the provincial government. Officials also said they were considering legal action.
What the investigations found
Within weeks, the Gauteng government announced that checks of hospitals across the province had turned up no record of the births. Reports at the time also said Sithole had been taken for psychiatric assessment under South Africa’s Mental Health Care Act. It is worth being careful here: an assessment does not explain why the story was told, and outsiders cannot diagnose anyone from news reports.
The most complete answer came later. On 31 December 2022, acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka released a 57-page report responding to a complaint from Tsotetsi. According to coverage by TimesLIVE, it found:
- no evidence that Sithole gave birth to ten children on 7 June 2021;
- no record of her being admitted to Steve Biko Academic Hospital that year, with other hospitals she named also denying any admission;
- contradictions in her own accounts of where the births took place;
- no evidence that officials kept her from her babies, held her improperly or breached her privacy, and that her involuntary admission may have been warranted on the basis of several medical reports.
The report also noted that Sithole’s existing twins had been placed in care after she contacted social workers herself, and that she was reunited with them about three months later.
How the publisher responded
Independent Media’s response was divided. In October 2021, the company’s internal ombud described the story as a hoax that had damaged public trust in the media, and an advocate’s review concluded that publishing it had been reckless and recommended disciplinary action against Rampedi, who was told to apologise publicly.
The group’s owner, Iqbal Survé, nevertheless continued to defend the report for a time, suggesting the babies existed and had been hidden. Rampedi rejected the Public Protector’s findings as flawed, saying he and his colleagues had not been interviewed. He resigned from the Pretoria News in early 2023, still maintaining the story was true.
Lessons for readers and newsrooms
Many people asked how such a claim could be printed in the first place. The plain answer is that the most basic checks were skipped. A record-breaking medical event normally comes with a named hospital, named doctors, official confirmation and, eventually, the babies themselves. The story had none of those when it ran.
A few habits help anyone judge a story like this:
- Look for independent confirmation. One outlet, one source and no official comment is a warning sign, however many sites repeat it.
- Ask what evidence should exist. Ten newborns would leave medical records, photographs and staff witnesses. When obvious evidence is missing, be cautious.
- Be wary of record claims. Extraordinary claims, especially world records, deserve extra scrutiny before sharing.
- Think before donating. Give to verified appeals and registered charities, and wait for confirmation when a story is still developing.
It is also a reminder to treat the people at the centre of such stories with care. Whatever happened in this case, a woman’s health became the subject of global speculation, and that has its own cost.
The real record
For the record, the largest set of babies known to have survived birth is the nonuplets born to Halima Cissé of Mali in Casablanca, Morocco, in May 2021, just weeks before the Tembisa claim. That case was confirmed by hospital staff and health officials. The Tembisa story, by contrast, collapsed because none of that confirmation ever arrived.
Sources: Wikipedia: Tembisa 10; TimesLIVE, 31 December 2022: Public Protector wraps up Thembisa 10 probe. Photo: Thobile Mathonsi/African News Agency.
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