Your worst nightmare come true. What if everyone declared you mad and locked you away, yet you were as sane as the next person?
How would you prove you were not delusional or deranged? This is the situation that faced Tembisa 10 mother Maria Sithole (aka Gosiame) in June 2021 post the birth of her decuplets at Steve Biko Academic Hospital.
Over the course of several months, through its Baby Trade docuseries, Independent Media has revealed the strong likelihood that Mrs Sithole was indeed pregnant and with multiple babies.
As Gosiame tells it, it also seems likely that something is rotten and amiss with the state of the Department of Health, Social Development, and SAPS, given the documented and extraordinary events that unfolded post the announcement of the birth of these babies.
As a recap, Episode 5 ended with Gosiame having been unceremoniously declared a danger to herself and others and dragged to Tembisa Hospital by Mokgethwa Makate, a social worker at the Department of Social Development.
As has been mentioned, Makate seems to be integral to Sithole’s story… more on that later.
To Episode 6 and a stopover at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital we go. Baby Trade hands the reins back to Gosiame and Teboho Tsotetsi (claimed father of the 10 babies), who detail the events that unfold. What they have to say is chilling and deeply concerning.
It is also, say the producers of the docuseries, something that the Department of Health and the Department of Social Development should please take note of and urgently investigate, as the allegations are serious, and have far reaching implications.
Editorial director for the series Viasen Soobramoney explains: “All along, Gosiame Sithole and Teboho Tsotetsi have been consistent in their story. The peculiar events and repeated breaches of the law and regulations by a succession of officials and people in connection to this tale, often defy belief.
“They certainly required our team to look deeper before releasing to the public.
“This is one of the reasons why it has taken us a little longer to issue the remaining episodes in the series.”
Soobramoney also confirmed that Episode 7 will follow closely on the publication of Episode 6, Baby Trade: The ‘Madness’ Continues.
While the latest instalment may not answer everyone’s questions as to what happened to the babies, it does shine a light on the possibility of a massive cover-up.
It also highlights the abuse of the system and just how easy it is for people to simply vanish…
Warning: What if this happened to you. It could you know…
So, is Gosiame Sithole mad?
Watch, Baby Trade…Tracking the truth because the truth should never be trafficked, and make up your own mind.