Dr Matthew Lani is a South African social media personality, have a look at his real name, age and biography
Find out more about him.
Dr Matthew Lani, a popular South African TikTok user, was arrested by security staff at Helen Joseph Hospital on Sunday, October 29, putting him in legal hot water. Following the dissemination of texts in which he falsely identified himself as a doctor, he was arrested.
Who is Dr Matthew Lani as fake TikTok doctor is arrested, biography, age, real name, family and story
Meet Dr Matthew Lani Lawyer pic.twitter.com/DQ3eqR8Q8n
— IG:Joy-Zelda (@joy_zelda) October 30, 2023
BREAKING:
Charges against fake doctor Bongani Lani ( Dr Matthew ) dropped.
“You can not be charged for lying. Lying is not an offence” says NPA spokesperson pic.twitter.com/UYMYdKItYq
— Kgopolo (@PhilMphela) October 31, 2023
Lani, also known online as Bongani Zingelwa and Sanele Zingelwa, became well-known for his unsolicited medical advice and impersonation of a healthcare expert. He even went so far as to claim he was affiliated with the Gauteng Health Department.
On Monday, October 30, a video of Dr Matthew Lani’s hospital arrest was posted on X (previously Twitter) by user @Khanyih_Ngubane. In the 21-second video, he is seen appealing to security staff while sporting a SpongeBob t-shirt. It shows many police trying to arrest and shackle the well-known figure on the internet.
However, the precise accusations against him have not yet been made public. In a statement on X, the Gauteng Health Department verified that Matthew Lani, the “fake doctor,” had been taken into custody. The department said that Lani had tried to use a surgical mask, sweatshirt, and stethoscope as disguises to enter Helen Joseph Hospital.
The official statement also revealed that Lani had attempted to flee by opening a bathroom window, but her attempt had failed. Eventually, the cops received him and made a formal arrest.
While the exact charges against Lani were undisclosed at the time of writing this article, among other things, he’ll likely be charged with identity theft. Due to this, Dr Matthew Lani has become the talk of the town, with many people trying to find out more about him. So, here’s what we know about him:
Who is Dr Matthew Lani?
Dr Matthew Lani is a renowned South African social media personality and TikToker. He has been in the news because he was arrested by security staff at Helen Joseph Hospital after he falsely identified himself as a doctor.
He asserted that he had graduated at age 21 from the University of Witwatersrand with a medical degree. To further enhance his fictitious qualifications, Lani claimed that he was a Cambridge International College high school graduate. According to Mzansi Profiles, Lani revealed to his fans that he completed high school at the age of sixteen after skipping three classes.
After offering medical advice and trying to sell weight-loss drugs, Dr Matthew Lani gained popularity in South Africa’s online community. He claimed to have obtained his medical license from the Health Professionals Council of South Africa and to be employed in a hospital in Johannesburg.
However, he became a talking point on the internet when the University of Witwatersrand said that Dr Matthew Lani never graduated from the school with a medical degree. It was also mentioned by the Department of Education that he never obtained a Grade 12 certificate.
The Gauteng Health X account further released a screenshot of a text exchange in which Lani was seen providing the Department of Health with his fictitious medical credentials. However, according to the organization, he didn’t receive a license to practice medicine.
Lani is currently 27 years old.
The Department of Education says Mr Lani did not even obtain his school-leaving certificate and allegedly tried to mislead authorities by saying his real name was Dr Sanele Zingelwa – a second-year medical intern at the Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital.
Dr Matthew Lani’s cousin released a TikTok video speaking on the bogus medical doctor saying, “I’m very embarrassed to say this, but he is my cousin, and we are aware as the Lani Family because we have been seeing rounds on social media. How do I even begin to say this? Because I am not even allowed to say anything on social media. As a family, we have decided to distance ourselves from him.”
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