The net closed in on the so-called ‘Dr Matthew Lani’, with the Gauteng Health Department opening a criminal case against him.
The well-known influencer, who portrays himself as a doctor on social media, found himself in hot water during the week when the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) publicly refuted his claims of having graduated from the institution.
The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) also confirmed that he was not registered on its database.
‘Lani’ claimed that his real name was Sanele Zingelwa, which, as it turned out, was actually the name of a second-year medical intern at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital.
The medical intern apparently opened a case of identity fraud against him.
Furthermore, the department also opened a case of impersonating a medical doctor against him with the Brixton police.
Spokesperson Motalatale Modiba: “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 practicing 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.”