Woman who claims she gave birth to ten children admitted to psychiatric ward

 Woman who claims she gave birth to ten children admitted to psychiatric ward The mother who has claimed she gave birth to decuplets in Sout...

 Woman who claims she gave birth to ten children admitted to psychiatric ward

The mother who has claimed she gave birth to decuplets in South Africa has been admitted to a psychiatric ward, with her lawyer alleging she is being held against her will.

Gosiame Sithole was taken to Tembisa Hospital in Johannesburg for a psychiatric evaluation just days after her partner Tebogo Tsotetsi said he does not believe the ten children exist.  

Ms Sithole, 37, was first apprehended by police officers at a relative's house in the northern township of Rabie Ridge near the city of Johannesburg in the early morning of Thursday 17 June.

She was transported to a police station in the nearby suburb of Chloorkop before being handed over to social workers who then admitted her to Tembisa Hospital's psychiatric ward for a mental health assessment. 

The police, who denied that Ms Sithole had been arrested for a crime, had taken her to the station after Mr Tsotetsi's relatives reported her as missing.  

Speculation has grown over Ms Sithole's claims after the hospital where she claimed she had given birth denied treating her.  

The 37-year-old is said to have told her boyfriend she gave birth to the babies after midnight on June 8. 

Since Ms Sithole's detention, her lawyer Refiloe Mokoena has claimed that she is being held against her will and that she will apply for a court order to secure her release.

Ms Mokoena alleged her client was initially denied legal access and that Ms Sithole's request to visit a private psychologist instead of the institute she was taken to was turned down by the social workers from the Department of Social Development. 

The lawyer told reporters: 'She declined that she should be taken to Tembisa Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation because she felt strongly that she is of sound mind.' 

Since being admitted to the hospital's psychiatric ward, Sithole has been subjected to 'mental torture' and 'starvation' and she has also been 'handcuffed', claims news site IOL. 

The lawyer added: 'When I left Tembisa Hospital, she made it clear that seeing that she is now being held against her will, I should please move an urgent court order for her to be released.'

A protest against her internment was due to be held by relatives, friends and activists outside the hospital on Friday 18th June, though it was not reported if it went ahead.     

Dalian Mboweni, one of the march organisers, claimed that Ms Sithole said she was being 'mistreated' by hospital staff, reports Pindula News.

The activist said: 'Sithole told us that she was being mistreated by staff as if she is mentally disturbed. She says she was being shouted at and... she was handcuffed. This is breaking her, we want her released because she is held against her will.'

The development comes after Ms Sithole, who had not revealed her location since the apparent world record, accused the father of her children of trying to become a 'millionaire' from the story.

Ms Sithole claimed her boyfriend Mr Tsotetsi was 'expecting to be rich' from the alleged record births and was only concerned about the donations coming from people across the world. 

She also slammed Mr Tsotetsi for saying he did not believe the decuplets exist, accusing him of trying to 'hurt' her and 'ruin' what she has with her babies.

The 'mother' had said she will continue to keep her children's whereabouts secret, adding that 'no-one can force her to' disclose their location. 

Her comments come after Mr Tsotetsi said on Tuesday he had not seen Ms Sithole or the alleged children since her incredible claims which made headlines worldwide. 

His family released a statement which said they do not believe there are decuplets until it is proven otherwise.  

In videos shared by Pretoria News editor Piet Rampedi on Tuesday night, Ms Sithole refuted Mr Tsotetsi and his family's claims and constantly refers to 'my babies' without directly confirming the number, reports TimesLive. 

Ms Sithole, wearing a large brown coat over a patterned dress at an undisclosed location, said: 'They are unfair because they are doing things and they are trying to hurt me. 

'I speak to Tsotetsi now and then. I feel that they never loved me; I was just forced to be with him.'

Speaking about Mr Tsotetsi and his family's statement, she said: 'What they are doing shows me that they wanted to ruin something with my babies. 

'That is why they are crying so much for them. The children are mine and no-one else's. Why are they after me?

'They were looking at the donations coming from people and wanting to be millionaires from the births. They were expecting to be rich. That is why I have [my babies] where they are.'  

Ms Sithole remained adamant that she would not disclose the location of her children and said 'no-one is going to force me... I will do it on my own time'. 

She also questioned whether Mr Tsotetsi and his family were really sure in their claims that the decuplets do not exist. 

'Are they sure with what they are saying? I want to know if they are sure of what they are saying. I will do what I want, and on my own time and not on their time.

'I won't do it for them, I will do it for my sake because they never loved me,' she said.

Her comments come in response to a statement by Mr Tsotetsi's family on Tuesday which read: 'Tebogo confirmed he had not seen the deculplets and relied on his girlfriend who called to inform him of their birth.

'He made several attempts to visit his girlfriend and the babies but she has failed to disclose her whereabouts and the condition of her babies.

'The current uncertainties and public disclosure about the decuplets is of major concern to the family, especially in the absence of any proof of the decuplets' existence other than telephonic and WhatsApp messages from the mother.'

The statement concluded with the family saying they believe there are no decuplets until it is proven otherwise as they apologised and appealed for help in finding Ms Sithole.

It comes after Mr Tsotetsi earlier asked the public to stop donating money to the alleged mother. 

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