From unique birth to meeting with a minister: a timeline of the 'Thembisa 10' so far

The birth of decuplets, allegedly to 37-year-old Thembisa woman Gosiame Thamara Sithole, continues to dominate news headlines as South Africans wait eagerly to meet the “Thembisa 10”.

Pretoria News reported on the births last week, but confusion soon reigned after the national and Gauteng governments said they were unable to confirm the reports.

Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina said his office had met with the family, and released a statement on behalf of the family confirming the births.

Here's a timeline of events: 

June 8: 'Ten children born at an undisclosed hospital'

Pretoria News reported that a Gauteng woman had broken a Guinness World Record by giving birth to 10 babies at an undisclosed hospital. It said doctors initially detected eight but Sithole and her partner Teboho Tsotetsi were pleasantly surprised when they learnt there were two more babies. 

Tsotetsi said seven of the 10 were boys and three girls. 

June 8: Government can't verify 10 babies 

The government could not initially provide confirmation of the unique birth. Director-general of government communications, Phumla Williams, said at the time the authorities were seeking more information.

“The posts attribute the birth of the babies to Gosiame Thamara Sithole from Gauteng. The government has been unable to verify the authenticity of this birth at our facilities. We need to verify this story and provide assistance where needed,” said Williams.

June 9: National baby shower

Social media users and brands pledged donations to help Sithole and Tsotetsi support their 10 bundles of joy. “National baby shower” trended on social media as scores celebrated the birth of the 10 babies. 

Lucky Star pledged to donate a year's supply of pilchards to the family.

June 9: No record of the babies

Thabo Masebe, spokesperson for the Gauteng provincial government, said Charlotte Maxeke, Chris Hani Baragwanath, George Mukhari and Steve Biko hospitals could not confirm the births. He said authorities checked private and public hospitals and with the Limpopo government. 

“We have no record of the 10 babies at any Gauteng hospital. 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,” he said. 

June 10: Babies are 'fighting for their lives'

Sithole's family told TimesLIVE she and her babies were recovering in hospital. A family member said Sithole was not able to release pictures because they were still in NICU and she was not allowed to have a cellphone. 

She said the babies were born prematurely at 29 weeks and they were fighting for their lives in hospital.

June 11: Reports Sithole went missing

The Gauteng social development department dismissed media reports on Friday that Sithole had gone missing and a case was opened with the police.

“Gauteng department of social development wishes to confirm that the mother of the decuplets is not missing. She has contacted the Gauteng department of social development and the department will make an announcement in due course. The provincial SAPS has been notified,” it said in a statement.

Acting Thembisa police station commander Col Mokoena told TimesLIVE there was no record of a missing woman case.

“We don’t have such a case; we are surprised. No, we don’t have a missing woman, we should know about that. At my station there is no report like that.”

June 13: Lindiwe Zulu will meet the family

Social development minister Lindiwe Zulu told Sunday Times a social worker in her department had said there were babies in the hospital who were born prematurely. 

“It is a sticky and sensitive situation, but sensational at the same time, with many saying that it is false news, but I am working with the information that I have,” she said, adding she would visit the family on Monday.

Several community members told the paper Sithole had a difficult pregnancy and that she struggled to walk properly.

Lucas Shaku, who runs a kota joint and a car wash, said the births were “the best news”.

“I saw her once and she was using crutches to walk. We are happy for her because we never thought things like these happen. We all felt sorry for her during her pregnancy,” he said.