The South African woman who claimed that she'd given birth to 10 babies on 7 June fabricated her pregnancy and didn't give birth at all, it has now emerged.
Thirty-seven-year-old Gosiame Sithole shocked the world when she claimed to have given birth to a record breaking number of children, but doubts were quickly cast over the veracity of her statement when the father said he had never met the children.
Teboho Tsotetsi accused Sithole of creating the whole thing as a money-making swindle, and Sithole was later admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Pretoria.
Now, the whole strange mystery is at an end, after doctors at the Tembisa Hospital found out that Ms Sithole 'did not give birth to any babies in recent times.'
The report, which was conducted by officials from the local government, added: "It has also been established that she was not pregnant in recent times."
Sithole is still in the hospital where she remains under observation.
The Gauteng Provincial Government released a statement that read: "Miss Sithole was admitted to Tembisa hospital on 18 June 2021, and various medical tests were conducted on her to determine her state of health.
"Initially, she was meant to be kept at the hospital for 72 hours, which lapsed on Tuesday.
"Upon completing their preliminary examination, her doctors recommended that she be kept at the hospital for a further seven days for further observation, in accordance with the Mental Healthcare Act."
The statement concluded: "It has now been established by medical practitioners that Miss Sithole did not give birth to any babies in recent times. It has also been established that she was not pregnant in recent times."
The news agency that first ran the story has also apologised for failing to fact-check the story Sithole had told them before sending it out around the world.
Pretoria News editor Piet Rampedi sent an email around to his staff to tell them that he knew who the couple were, and could see no reasonable grounds to doubt that they were telling the truth.
However, he said: "I used no investigative tool or checklist.
"They had no reason to lie to me about the pregnancy. For me, it was a story of celebration.
"Hence, I never demanded documentary proof of the pregnancy, such as scanners and clinic cards, for instance, as I would normally do with an investigative story.
"However, judging by the sudden turn of events and the reaction from the government and our detractors, I was wrong."
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