A well-known South African TikToker, who had purportedly posed as a doctor, has been apprehended, nearly three weeks after authorities accused him of fraudulent activities.
Matthew Lani was detained by the security personnel at Johannesburg’s Helen Joseph Hospital while reportedly trying to gain access to the facility on Sunday night.
The authorities in Gauteng province indicated that he was subsequently transferred into police custody.
“Lani was caught just before 8pm disguised in a hoodie and wearing a surgical mask with a stethoscope around his neck,” the department said in a statement.
It added that Lani “had previously entered the same facility to curate misleading content under the pretence that he was a qualified doctor”.
Lani had amassed a significant following on TikTok, where he shared medical-related content and marketed his own line of pills.
He claimed to have obtained a medical degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, an assertion that the university has denied as false.
He further asserted that his true identity was Dr. Sanele Zingelwa, but investigations revealed that he had posed as a medical intern at a different healthcare facility.
The Health Professions Council of South Africa confirmed that Lani was not a registered healthcare professional.
