‘Tembisa 10’ mother demands apology from Sanef, threatens legal action for ‘defamatory’ remarks

Gosiame Sithole, popularly known as the mother of the ‘Tembisa 10’, has threatened legal action against Sanef for the “defamatory” remarks it made about her.

This after Sanef released a statement criticising the International News Media Awards for shortlisting the report about the apparent birth of decuplets in Gauteng for an award.

The story, first published by Independent Media’s Pretoria News last year, has been nominated in the “Best Use of Social Media” in the International News Media Awards (INMA).

The newspaper ran the “exclusive story” last year about Sithole, who apparently earned her place in the Guinness Book of Records after carrying and delivering 10 babies.

After much speculation on whether the story was true or not, it was later confirmed by the Gauteng Health Department that the woman by the name of Gosiame Sithole was in fact not pregnant and there were no 10 babies.

However, Pretoria News’ editor Piet Rampedi stuck to his guns and said he believed that Sithole was pregnant with 10 babies and even went as far as to claim that criticism of his reporting was a personal attack on him.

“This report has no basis in truth, is factually inaccurate and contributes to the spread of disinformation, deliberately misleading audiences. It’s now public knowledge and widely accepted that the piece perpetuates disinformation and has been flagged for its total lack of verification, and deeply questionable ‘sources’.

“The legitimacy of the entire so-called story has been called into question. As the June awards fast approach, we call on the INMA to reconsider its stance. The Decuplets report has been condemned by the Gauteng Provincial Government, and the medical fraternity at large … with all key role players distancing themselves from it,” said Sanef.

“It is not only fake, but also dangerous as it seriously sets back the advances made by the country in protecting women and children. Ethical journalism and building public trust are the cornerstones of good journalistic practices – yet this piece majestically fails at both.”

But Sithole slammed Sanef’s statement as “lies” and “untruthful” and said she had proof of her pregnancy.

“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 end of business on Monday, 11 April 2022, to issue an unconditional apology to us,” said Sithole in a statement.

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