Woman who blew whistle on Dr Matthew Lani's 'fraud' in 2021 speaks out
A North West woman who exposed social media influencer "Dr" Matthew Lani in 2021 has spoken out about their court battle. Bonolo Gomolemo Seleke, who exposed bogus medical practitioner and social media influencer Dr Matthew Lani in 2021, has spoken out about the alleged fraud. She claims that Lani's qualifications came under scrutiny when she noticed something was amiss and he was giving incorrect HIV/Aids education to young girls in the Christiana community. She also filed a protection order against him due to Covid-19 regulations and restrictions. On Monday, the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and the Gauteng Health Department confirmed Lani was not a registered doctor working at Helen Joseph Hospital as he had been claiming on social media. Wits University, where he claimed to have graduated, also denied he graduated from the institution. In 2016, Lani reappeared on the department's system at Fourways Adult Centre where he only passed one subject out of the three he wrote.
gepubliceerd : 2 jaar geleden door Nokuthula Ngcobo in Lifestyle
Dr Matthew Lani is allegedly lying about being a qualified doctor. Image via X: @advobarryroux
Bonolo Gomolemo Seleke, who exposed bogus medical practitioner and social media influencer Dr Matthew Lani, says she quit her job in 2021 after she lost a case against him.
According to Seleke, she and Lani worked together at Christiana Hospital in North West where he claimed to be doing his practicals while she worked as a patient tracer and health awareness mobilizer.
However, Lani’s qualifications came under scrutiny when Seleke noticed that something was amiss.
In a Facebook post in January 2021, Seleke claimed that the alleged fake doctor had been giving incorrect HIV/Aids education to young girls in the Christiana community. Lani retaliated by filing a protection order against Seleke, claiming harassment.
Court papers shared by Seleke show that a protection order was granted by the Christiana Magistrate’s Court on 31 March 2021. She says Lani won because she could not attend court due to Covid-19 regulations and restrictions.
“I was a contact of a person infected with Corona and couldn’t attend court and they ruled in his favor but ba ba busa [he was forced to come back to] court after I submitted my doctor’s note, original and qualified doctor’s note for that matter. Then ke ene abasa tlhole a attend [Then he e didn’t attend]. Ebe tshololwa [The case was thrown out]” she said.
“I did not lose my job, I quit after the department failed to support me through my case with Dr Lani though I uplifted their image and protected their dignity,” she added.
The Christiana Magistrate’s Court had not responded to questions sent at the time of publishing.
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Lani has been masqueraded on social media as a 24-year-old doctor and gained popularity with almost 300 000 followers on Tik Tok. He is alleged to have stolen Dr Sanele Zingelwa’s identity, who is a second-year medical intern at the Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital. Dr Zingelwa has opened a case against him.
On Monday, 9 October, the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and the Gauteng Health Department confirmed that Lani was not a registered doctor working at Helen Joseph Hospital as he had been claiming on social media. Wits University, where he claimed to have graduated, also denied he graduated from the institution.
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In addition, it was revealed by the Gauteng Department of Education that Lani doesn’t have a matric certificate. The department also said the bogus doctor was previously enrolled at school for pupils with special needs.
“Our official records indicate that Matthew Bongani Lani was initially enrolled at Bordeaux Primary school [Randburg] in 2007. However, he was referred to Gresswold Learners with Special Needs School in Johannesburg in January 2010,” said education department spokesperson Steve Mabona.
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In 2016, Lani reappeared on the department’s system at Fourways Adult Centre where he only passed one subject out of the three he wrote.
“Based on these records, and further verified information at our disposal from Umalusi (the education quality assurance body), we can confirm that Matthew Bongani Lani indeed does not possess a matric certificate,” said Mabona.
Lani, who has previously interviewed by a number of radio stations, is known for giving medical advice to his social media followers. He also sells weight-loss tablets on his social media platforms.
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Onderwerpen: Fraud, Corruption