TikTok
The University of Witwatersrand and the Health Professions Council of South Africa have distanced themselves from a "bogus TikTok doctor", Matthew Lani.
He became popular on the social media platform, with videos showing him with a stethoscope around his neck and another hanging from his ears, dispensing medical advice to his more than 284 thousand followers.
In his videos, Lani also claimed to have graduated from Wits University in 2021, as the youngest doctor in the country.
In another shared by the Gauteng Health Department, Lani portrayed himself as a medical intern at Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg, as well as an HIV/AIDS activist. The Department has since deleted the video from its social media page.
In a statement on Monday, Wits University said that it does not have any record of Lani graduating from the institution.
The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) also distanced itself from Lani.
"The HPCSA would also like to publicly state that the name of Matthews Zingelwa-Lani does not appear in the register of health practitioners," the statement said.
It also emphasised that registration with the HPCSA was a pre-requisite and that practising while not registered with the Health Council was also a criminal offence.
In one of his TikTok videos, Lani claims to have skipped grades 4,6 and 8 and does not have a matric certificate but rather a high school diploma which he acquired from Cambridge University in England.
