An old image has resurfaced online with claims that a woman in Kapoeta County gave birth to sextuplets recently. This is false. The image is an old image which first appeared here in 2020.

The recent post has been shared widely, receiving more than 10K comments from different social media platforms.

According to the false post, the woman gave birth to six babies, four boys and two girls, in Kapoeta County of Eastern Equatoria State, and she is currently in good condition.

The post was shared 185 times, receiving more than 7,200 comments on this South Sudan Facebook profile.

"Yesterday in Kapoeta Hospital, Eastern Equatoria State, South Sudan. A blessed woman gives birth to six babies, which comprised of four (4) boys and two (2) girls. The mother is in good condition and health. This is not the first time for such important to happen in South Sudan but it had been happening all over the country as a wife of a soldier gave birth to quadruples in Rumbek, Lakes State. It's a blessing to us as South Sudanese and God is replacing those who were lost during the 21 years of struggle, communal conflicts and 2013 civil war, therefore, we should be thankful to God always," the false post reads.

Dr John Isaac, a health practitioner at Kapoeta hospital, told Radio Tamazuj that they do not have a recent case of that nature. The current online image is an old photo of two women who gave birth to two sets of twins in the same hospital about a year ago. 

"This information is not true. This case is an old case. It's been more than a year now," Dr John Isaac said.

Dr John also revealed that the image resurfacing online is that of a gynaecologist at Kapoeta hospital holding two sets of triplets delivered by two women. 

"This is not something new, and it's not actually that the mother delivered six babies at the same time. They were two mothers, each delivered triplets. One year ago, two mothers delivered in the hospital, each delivered three, and the gynaecologist actually took the six and took the pictures with them, and that was it," Dr John Isaac said.

Online users across East Africa continue to publish the photo with false claims none could not ascertain the truth behind the image. 

In this Verified Twitter account, former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko posted the photo alluding that a man from Oyugis, in Kisumu County of Kenya, impregnated his two wives, and they coincidentally gave birth on the same day. This post is false. 

Two other popular Kenyan Facebook pages, Digital Cops and Digital Strategy News, shared the same photo implying that a man from Oyugis impregnated his two wives, and they coincidentally gave birth on the same day. These two pages received an audience engagement of more than 500 shares, with more than 8K users commenting. This was false.

The image also appeared here and here. 

While online users might find it interesting to look for photos that might spike engagement for content creation, it is always wise to verify and recheck the content source because some content might mislead.

Radio Tamazuj seeks to debunk misleading information in South Sudan. If you have a claim that you would wish to be verified, please get in touch with us via contact@radiotamazuj.org.