Who is Dr Matthew Lani? Infamous bogus TikTok doctor's arrest video goes viral 

South African TikToker Dr Matthew Lani was arrested by security personnel at the Helen Joseph Hospital on the night of Sunday, October 29. According to News 24, the influencer attempted to sneak into the health facility, where he got apprehended. The detainment comes after text messages of him claiming to be a doctor went viral online.

Dr Matthew Lani, also called Bongani Zingelwa and Sanele Zingelwa online, gained notoriety after claiming to be a doctor and giving unsolicited health advice. He also claimed to be an employee of the Gauteng Health Department.

On Monday, October 30, X (formerly Twitter) user @Khanyih_Ngubane released a video that showed Matthew Lani getting arrested by hospital security. In the 21-second video, he can be seen wearing a SpongeBob t-shirt and pleading with the security to get out. Multiple officers can be seen attempting to withhold and handcuff the internet personality.

At the time of writing this article, the video had amassed over 1.1 million views. The official charges against him remain unknown at the time of writing this article.

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Matthew Lani claimed to have graduated from the University of Witwatersrand

According to Mzansi Profiles, the internet personality is 27 years old. Lani went viral after claiming to have graduated with a medical degree from the University of Witwatersrand at the age of 21. He claimed to have studied at the educational institution between 2014 and 2021.

Adding to his false credentials, Lani had told his followers that he graduated with a high school diploma from Cambridge International College. Mzansi Profiles also stated that Lani told his followers that he skipped three grades and graduated high school at the age of 16.

Matthew Lani became an internet sensation in South Africa after giving medical advice and attempting to sell weight-loss pills. He claimed that he was working at a hospital in Johannesburg and had attained his medical license from the Health Professionals Council of South Africa.

The internet sensation became a topic of conversation online after the University of Witwatersrand stated that Lani never obtained any medical qualifications from the institution. The Department of Education also noted that he never received a Grade 12 certificate.

The Gauteng Health X account also shared a screenshot of a text message that showed Lani sharing his fake medical credentials with the Department of Health. However, the organization claimed that he was not given a license to practice medicine.

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Gauteng Health Department confirms arrest in statement

The Gauteng Health Department released a statement on X announcing that the “bogus doctor,” Matthew Lani, had been arrested. They claimed that Lani was caught by the security disguising himself with a hoodie, surgical mask, and a stethoscope. Their official statement also revealed:

“He had previously entered the same facility [Helen Joseph Hospital] to curate misleading content under the pretense that he was a qualified doctor.”

Their official statement also shared that Matthew Lani attempted to make a run by jumping through a bathroom window. However, he failed to do so. The department also noted that Lani was “handed over to the police for an official arrest.”

As mentioned, the official charges against Lani had not been released at the time of writing this article. He is likely to be charged with identity theft, among the many other charges, as Dr. Sanele Sobani Vambani Zingelwa, a second-year medical intern at the Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital, claimed that the TikToker stole his name.