After months of masquerading as a doctor and giving medical advice on social media, the police have confirmed that Matthew Lani has been arrested. He was apprehended by security at the Helen Joseph Hospital.
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 that Lani is expected to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on a charge of impersonating medical personnel.
Gauteng 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,” the department said in a statement.
@zuccz_za "Doctor" Matthew allegedley being held at the hospital where he was walking up in down in on a live video from Friday.#SAMA28 #rwc #bokke #southafrica #mzansi #rec2023 #allblacks #doctormatthew #drmatthew #bonganilani #matthewlani #hpcsa #fakedoctor ♬ original sound – Zucco
@zuccz_za 💩 🥊 🪭. #SAMA28 #southafrica #mzansi #doctormatthew #drmatthew #bonganilani #hpcsa #fakedoctor #rwc2023 #rwc #mzansitiktok #matthewlani #rugbyworldcup ♬ original sound – Zucco
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 worm his way into the system by 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.”
The University of Witwatersrand has 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.
