By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GettyImages.
The Gauteng provincial government has decided to go the legal route against Independent Media Group and Pretoria News editor, Piet Rampedi, for the sensationalised reporting of the so-called “Tembisa 10 saga” .
This follows the furore around Rampedi’s story recently, which captured local and international attention, with the newspaper claiming that a woman, Gosiame Sithole, had given birth to decuplets and, as a result, had broken a world record.
The Gauteng government has maintained its stance yet again that there was no record of the delivery of decuplets at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital or any other in the province.
In a statement released on Wednesday afternoon, the provincial government said it had “instructed the state attorney to institute legal action against Rampedi and the Independent Group”.
“These allegations are false, unsubstantiated and only serve to tarnish the good reputation of Steve Biko Academic Hospital and the Gauteng provincial government.”
The provincial government said Sithole was taken to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation and it was concluded that she did not give birth to any babies recently.
“Ms 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, 22 June 2021.
“Upon completing their preliminary examination on Monday, 21 June 2021, 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.
“It has now been established by medical practitioners that Ms 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 Gauteng provincial government will continue to give medical, psychological and social support to Ms Sithole and provide any counselling she might require.”
MEDIA STATEMENT || STATEMENT OF THE GAUTENG PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT ON THE SO-CALLED “DECUPLETS” pic.twitter.com/9bJq50v6LG
— Gauteng Health (@GautengHealth) June 23, 2021
Meanwhile Rampedi has since apologised to his colleagues for the damage his story on SA’s so-called “Tembisa 10” babies did to Independent Media’s reputation.
In a letter to Independent Media’s editor-in-chief Aneez Salie, Rampedi apologises for how the story was handled — but also accuses other media houses and journalists of scrutinising the story simply because he wrote it and because it was published by an Independent group title.