[imagesource: Thobile Mathonsi / African News Agency]

So we’re just going to forget about the Tembisa 10 story and move along?

I’m sure Piet Rampedi and Iqbal Survé would like that, given that their names have been dragged even further into the gutter.

The last time we reported on Gosiame Thamara Sithole and her decuplets, Rampedi was sticking to his guns, claiming that “the government appears to be involved in a cloak and dagger operation instead of unveiling the truth”.

That was in late June, and he made some very brazen claims:

“I will also share information that shows that Ms Sithole was pregnant, gave birth and that the South African government may be complicit in hiding and withholding information to serve a political agenda. I won’t be bullied into retracting a true story.”

Since then, radio silence.

Instead, Rampedi, who goes by Mr Putin on Twitter, continues to tweet links to Pretoria News, where he is the editor, as though anything he says retains a shred of credibility:

In the @pretorianews https://t.co/qZVHcknjRP

— Mr Putin (@pietrampedi) July 19, 2021

The only news we can report is that respected veteran anti-apartheid lawyer, advocate, and acting judge, Michael Donen SC, will be investigating Rampedi’s reporting on the Tembisa 10.

He was appointed by Independent Online, as part of an independently led inquiry into exactly what went wrong.

This via The Media Online:

The media group said Donen was well-placed to lead the inquiry, with an “impeccable reputation spanning a legal career of more than three decades, specialising in human rights, epitomises integrity, fairness, impartiality, and intellectual rigour”.

Executive Chairman of Independent Media, Dr Iqbal Survé, in appointing Donen to head up the Inquiry said: “We are very pleased that Michael will be overseeing this important inquiry.  As he has done for every step of his remarkable career, he will do what is right, not what is easy and we hope that having him as the lead, will also instil the necessary public confidence in the process that must unfold to get to the truth in this matter.”

I think we know the truth, Iqbal.

Independent Media has stated that it will publicly release all findings and recommendations from that investigation, as well as the findings of an investigation by the company’s own Press Ombud.

The company’s investigations editor, Sizwe Dlamini, will also conduct his own inquiry.

In a story published last Friday, written by an IOL staff reporter, further claims were made:

With the whereabouts of the 10 babies still a mystery, Sithole is being kept at Weskoppies Hospital as an involuntary patient in terms of the Mental Health Act.

Meanwhile, the father of Sithole’s children, Teboho Tsotetsi, has reportedly instituted criminal proceedings at the Pretoria Central police station against various people involved in the debacle.

Including the words “with the whereabouts of the 10 babies still a mystery” tells you that defeat has not yet been admitted.

You may recall that the Gauteng government issued a statement saying 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.”

Some people just don’t know when to stop digging.

[sources:mediaonline&iol]