A South African woman who claimed to have given birth to decuplets (10 babies) in June 2021, Gosiame Thamara Sithole, and her husband Teboho Tsotetsi have demanded an apology from the South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) and its former general secretary Mahlatse Mahlase for alleged defamatory statements made against them.

In a statement, Sithole and Tsotetsi allege that SANEF defamed them by claiming that Sithole was never pregnant and have threatened to sue if an apology is not forthcoming.

Below is the full statement by Gosiame Sithole and Teboho Tsotetsi:

I would like to ask Mahlase and SANEF to apologise to me and my husband immediately for their false and defamatory statements.

I would like to start by informing South Africans that my husband (Teboho Tsoletsi) and I are now officially married since February.

He paid lobola to my family, and we have been staying together since I was released from the hospital late last year.

We are deeply shocked at the statement released by an organisation called SANEF. We don’t know this organisation, and they never contacted me and my husband.

They have made statements about us that are lies and untruthful. Previously, when I was held against my will at Tembisa Hospital, I was not aware that there was a SANEF official, Mrs Mahlatse Mahlase, who made the statement that the doctors had examined and found me not to have been pregnant.

This was not true. No one examined me when I was in the hospital. I have proof of my pregnancy, confirmed by the doctors who examined me, and I gave my information to a lot of journalists and investigators.

My husband and I are looking for our babies. We were told that they were taken from Steve Biko Academic Hospital to George Mukhari Hospital and that they were safe. When I was released from the hospital after giving birth, I was told I could go see them.

I have on numerous occasions asked Steve Biko Academic Hospital as to where they took our babies to.

I saw my babies on two occasions at Steve Biko Academic Hospital, and now I don’t know where they are.

We laid criminal charges last year (Cas no: 206/7/20211 against the CEO of Steve Biko Hospital and other doctors who were involved after they failed to tell me where our babies were.

We intend to lay further charges against the doctors and hospitals involved in my delivery, including Dr Kazeem Okanlomo.

I would like to ask Mahlase and SANEF to apologise to me and my husband immediately for their false and defamatory statements.

I am giving them until the end of business on Monday, 11 April 2022, to issue an unconditional apology to us.

If they don’t apologise, as poor as I am, I will instruct my lawyers Gardee Godrich Attorneys, to pursue the matter further.

Mahlase and SANEF are abusing and taking advantage of me because I am a poor black woman and have no means to fight them. They are treating me like I am a piece of dirt.

I will not take media inquiries on this matter. I have requested my attorney, Mr Godrich Gardee, to handle media inquiries on my behalf.