Police have confirmed to IOL that bogus doctor, Matthew Lani has been arrested. He was apprehended by security at the Helen Joseph Hospital.
Police have arrested bogus TikTok doctor, Matthew Lani. He was apprehended by security at the Helen Joseph Hospital after he entered the facility wearing a stethoscope and face mask. Lani made waves in recent weeks after various institutions disputed his qualification claims.
After months of masquerading as a medical doctor and giving medical advice on social media, Matthew Lani has been arrested.
Police on Monday morning confirmed to IOL that Lani is expected to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on a charge of impersonating medical personnel.
Provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi, said he was apprehended by security at the Helen Joseph Hospital on Sunday night.
“The police can confirm that the social media personality who goes by the name Dr Matthew Lani has been apprehended on Sunday evening by security personnel at the Helen Joseph Hospital while trying to enter the institution,” Nevhuhulwi said.
The Gauteng Department of Health explained that Lani was caught just before 8pm. He was wearing a hoodie and a surgical mask over his face with a stethoscope around his neck.
“Immediately after being apprehended, Lani requested to go to the bathroom only to attempt to escape by jumping through the bathroom window,” he department said in a statement.
It added that when security realised that he was making a run for it, they called for reinforcement, and he was subsequently apprehended again.
Background
According to the Department of Health, Lani managed to weave his way into the system pretending to be in the employ of the Helen Joseph Hospital where he moved around the hospital corridors curating content for social media.
“Further investigations have revealed that Dr Sanele Zingelwa, the name which Lani claims is his real name, belongs to a second-year medical intern at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital,” the department said.
“The real Dr Sanele Sobani Vambani Zingelwa has opened a case of identity fraud at the Tembisa police station.”
IOL reported that the University of Witwatersrand distanced itself from Lani’s claims that he obtained his medical degree from its institution.
Wits called on the 27-year-old to retract any and all references he made linking him with the university.
He further claimed to have attended the Cambridge International College, which has since disputed this.
Furthermore, the Department of Education stated that there was no record of Lani’s National Senior Certificate.
Lani previously claimed his boyfriend had deliberately infected him with HIV.
He went on a media tour, having a sit-down interview on SABC 3, and was also interviewed in a 40-minute interview on Talk Radio 702 in the summer of 2021.
Timeline
October 9 – Dept of Health opens criminal case against Lani. The dept says the medical intern whose identity Lani allegedly stole, Dr Sanele Zingelwa, has also opened a case against him at the Tembisa police station.
October 29 – Lani is apprehended at the Helen Joseph Hospital. He entered via the hospital’s main entrance wearing a hoodie, stethoscope and surgical face mask. He asks to go to the toilet and tries to flee through a bathroom window. He is recaptured and handed over to SAPS.
October 30 – Police confirm Lani is due to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on a charge of impersonating a medical personnel.
October 31 – Lani appears in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court and charges are withdrawn. Lani’s lawyer Bongani Mabunda, said if there are any developments as investigations continue, the charge of impersonating a doctor could be reinstated.
IOL
