South Africa’s infamous fake TikTok doctor arrested
The Gauteng Department of Health has confirmed that the infamous fake TikTok doctor “Dr Matthew Lani” has been arrested after weeks of eluding authorities.
In a statement, the department said Lani was caught at the main entrance of the Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg at around 20:00 on Sunday, 29 October 2023.
He was wearing a hoodie, surgical mask, and stethoscope as a disguise when hospital security apprehended him.
He immediately requested to use the bathroom, where he jumped through a window to try and escape.
Security personnel called for reinforcements, and Lani was caught again before being handed over to the police for an “official” arrest.
“Dr Matthew Lani”, who rose to South African TikTok fame while pretending to be a qualified medical doctor
Lani had previously used the same hospital as the backdrop for misleading TikTok videos in which he gave medical advice while pretending to be a qualified medical doctor.
He amassed nearly 300,000 followers and three million likes on TikTok over several months before the first red flags about his qualifications and advice were raised three weeks ago.
On 9 October 2023, the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA) confirmed Lani was not registered as a health practitioner and warned that practising without a licence was a criminal offence.
On the same day, the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) also disputed a claim on Lani’s LinkedIn profile that he had studied medicine (MBBS) at the institution between 2014 and 2021, pointing out that it only offered an MBBCh.
Although technically the same degrees, they go by different names depending on the institution.
Criminal case opened and account banned
A few hours after the HPCSA and Wits’s statements, the Gauteng Department of Health confirmed it had opened a criminal case against Lani. TikTok subsequently banned his account.
The Gauteng Department of Education also confirmed that Lani did not have a matric certificate and had been referred to a Special Needs School in 2010.
Among his most controversial videos was one in which he alleged that a group of people were admitted to Helen Joseph Hospital after ingesting a weight-loss pill.
The claim led to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority launching an investigation into the matter in August. It was unable to confirm that this incident had occurred.
Lani stands accused of practicing without a licence and stealing the identity of a second-year medical intern at the Tembisa Provincial Hospital to gain access to medical facilities.
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