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December 13, 2013

Mandela Memorial Signer Says He Has Schizophrenia 
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The sign-language interpreter who was accused of botching Nelson
Mandela's memorial service says he was suffering hallucinations as a
result of schizophrenia. Thamsanqa Jantjie defended his credentials, but
said he saw angels entering FNB stadium in Soweto, where he stood on
stage next to President Obama and other world leaders. He apologized for
his signing, which apparently amounted to gibberish.

Thamsanqa Jantjie: "It was the most terrible day of my life. As you have
seen the results, it came to the whole of newspapers, but in brief, on
that day in question my state, my physical state, was not fine, but it's
not a justification of everything, but it's just, I want to put it in
the clarity that I was not fine on the day in question."

A South African official said the owners of the company the interpreter
worked for appear to have vanished.

 

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