A man pretending to be a doctor was detained at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha, sparking comparisons to a previous medical impersonation case.
Key Points:
- A man posed as a doctor and was detained at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital.
- The impostor claimed to be a professor, but his badge was fake.
- This case echoes Matthew Lani’s fraud, which also involved a fabricated medical career.
Impostor Doctor Poses as Professor at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital
Security guards at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, detained a man who posed as a doctor on Tuesday. The suspect, wearing a doctor’s lab coat and carrying a stethoscope, walked through the hospital corridors and took photographs.
Hospital Management Responds to Suspicious Individual
Hospital staff quickly alerted security about the suspicious individual. He claimed to be a professor. Nomkhita Mthonjana, the acting CEO of the hospital, confirmed the incident during an interview with SABC. She explained that security guards rushed to her office to report the situation.
“They said, ‘There is someone identifying himself as a professor.’ When I looked at the badge, it stated, ‘Prof of Internal Medicine and Surgery.’ However, this badge did not match the ones used in our institution,” Mthonjana said.
Police Intervene and Confiscate Impostor’s Medical Gear
Upon discovering the impostor doctor, hospital management contacted the police for assistance. “There were media reports circulating about this individual. He identified himself both as a teacher and a doctor,” Mthonjana explained. “We called the police, and the station commander responded quickly.”
The police arrived and interrogated the man. He claimed he wanted to volunteer at the hospital. However, Mthonjana clarified that the hospital does not accept volunteers. The authorities confiscated the man’s lab coat and stethoscope.
Echoes of a Similar Case: Matthew Lani’s Medical Fraud
This incident mirrors the high-profile case of Matthew Lani, who posed as a doctor and gained national attention. His fraudulent medical career was eventually exposed, leading to his arrest and a period of homelessness with his mother.
In a 2021 interview on the Engineer Your Life podcast, Lani admitted that he fabricated his career as an advanced HIV and AIDS clinician. He also claimed to have worked with people diagnosed with HIV and collaborated with an NGO. Furthermore, Lani discussed how he created the social media persona, “Dr. Matthew.” He said the character helped humanize and simplify HIV education.
