Johannesburg – The Health and Allied Workers Indaba Trade Union (HAITU) on Wednesday said the Gauteng Department of Health was partly responsible for popularising the fake TikTok Dr. Matthew Lani
HAITU said it has noted the statement from the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH), distancing itself from the bogus Doctor Matthew Bongani Lani”.
RELATED: Fake ‘TikTok’ Doctor Lani Does Not Even Have A Matric Certificate – The Bulrushes
Dr. Lani has been exposed as a fake.
He has no qualifications.
The University of the Witwatersrand has rejected, as false, his claims that he has a medical degree from the institution.
The Health Professions Council of South Africa has also distanced itself from him, saying he is not registered.
“What is worrying, is that this fake doctor has been dispensing medical advice and even medication,” said HAITU.
“The GDoH is doing everything possible to distance itself from the fake Dr. Lani, when the truth is that they are partly to blame for making him famous in the first place.”
HAITU General Secretary Lerato Mthunzi said it was not enough for the department to grandstand over this issue of the bogus Dr. Lani”.
Mthunzi added: “What is needed is for them to urgently do an audit of all healthcare employees, and to clean out, or dismiss those who have been employed, without proper qualifications”.
HAITU warned such incidents would likely keep on happening.
“There is likely to be another scenario where the department is exposed, because of their failure to ensure that people with proper qualifications, training, and experience are employed in the department,” said Mthunzi.
“Their failure to commit to this is a threat to the health and well-being of patients and the community as a whole.”
Mthunzi said the fake TikTok doctor’s actions were a potential threat to the health and safety of the public.
“The Gauteng Department of Education has also just issued a statement claiming that there is no record of the bogus doctor having matriculated,” Mthunzi said.
“A case of identity fraud has been opened up against the tik-toker by the real Dr. Sanele Sobani Zingelwa, who is a 2nd-year medical intern at the Tembisa Tertiary Hospital.”
Mthunzi added: “HAITU is not surprised this is happening because the department has a long history of endorsing and employing people who are not suitably qualified, and they often do not even bother to do the necessary checks to confirm qualifications.
“They jumped on the bandwagon and promoted a fake doctor because they wanted to appear relevant.”
