‘Not the first time’ – Gauteng health, Dr Zingelwa open criminal case against ‘Dr Matthew Lani’
Matthew says his employer is aware of his different social media name.
The Gauteng Health Department has opened a criminal case against Dr. Matthew Lani. Image: TikTok
The Gauteng Department of Health and DR Sanele Zingelwa have opened cases against ‘influencer doctor’ Matthew Lani.
‘Dr. Matthew Lani’ is back in the spotlight for claiming to be a qualified medical doctor with a qualification from Wits University and also registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) under the name Dr Sanele Zingelwa, which he claimed was his “legal name”.
Wits University said on Monday that based on the names presented to the institution, it could not find any person who graduated by the name of Matthew Bongani Zingelwa or Sanele Zingelwa in recent years.
ALSO READ: Wits University and HPCSA: We have no record of ‘influencer doctor’ Matthew Lani
“We are requesting ‘Dr Matthew Lani’ to retract any such claim with immediate effect,” said the university.
The HPCSA also confirmed it has no records of a “Mr Matthews Zingelwa-Lani” on its registry.
“The HPCSA would also like to publicly state that the name of Matthews Zingelwa-Lani does not appear in the register of health practitioners,” said HPCSA spokesperson Christopher Tsatsawane on Monday.
The HPCSA also said it would work with law enforcement agencies to address the increasing number of “bogus practitioners,” whom it said placed public health at risk.
Case against Matthew
The Gauteng health department on Monday opened a case of impersonating a medical doctor at the Brixton Police Station.
“Lani managed to weave his way into the system pretending to be in the employ of Helen Joseph Hospital where he moved around the hospital corridors curating content for social media,” said the department.
“Further investigations have revealed that Dr Sanele Zingelwa, the name which the Lani claims is his real name belongs to a second-year medical intern at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital. The real Dr Sanele Sobani Vambani Zingelwa has since opened a case of identity fraud at the Tembisa Police Station.”
ALSO READ: Qualification fraud should be easy to fix – but why isn’t SA doing anything?
The department further confirmed having worked with Matthew on 16 June 2022 on a campaign across its facilities as part of Youth Month commemorations.
In the campaign, young medical professionals were asked to send in their video clips on what it meant for them to be born frees (born after 1994). Lani was one of the participants; this was the only time the department ever worked with him.
“At the time, there was nothing that raised suspicion that he was not a person in the employ of the facility.”
“The opening of a criminal case against Lani is in line with Health Professions Act, Act No. 56 of 1974 as amended which states that practising whilst not registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa is a criminal offence and that any person who uses any name, title, description or symbol indicating, or calculated to lead persons to infer that he or she is the holder of any qualification of which they are not shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction, is liable to a fine, imprisonment or both.”
Dr Matthew: ‘This is not the first time’
Responding to the criticism, Matthew shared on TikTok on Monday that this was not the first time South Africans questioned his credentials.
“It’s not the first time, I have been down this road before, I have made videos, I have shown receipts. I have been addressing this matter. Honestly speaking, it’s getting to a place where it’s exhausting because it is falling on deaf ears,” said Matthew in a video.
ALSO READ: Growing number of fake doctors adding to SA healthcare woes
“My employer is aware that my name on social media is different from my legal name, and I am compliant with the social media guidelines of the HPCSA. As long as I am compliant with my employer and all the necessary authorities, so be it. I am not going to be complying with Black Twitter.”
He further told his colleagues not to worry about him.
“I am okay,” he said.
