It was tragic enough that Nelson Mandela, a pioneer for human rights and impactful presence in politics and sports across the world, passed away this week. Making matters worse, it appears a man translating speeches of various speakers throughout his memorial was not, in fact, communicating anything.
Thamsanqa Jantjie, a 34-year-old South African signer has come under fire for being a fraud who brought shame upon the proceedings to bid farewell to the respected former South African leader Mandela. During the ceremony Jantjie appeared to be signing nonsense, and repeating movements over and over again.
When questioned now, however, he is claiming to be a "champion signer." His bizarre failure to communicate didn't reflect a lack of knowledge; instead Jantjie says he was in the throes of a schizophrenic episode.
"There was nothing I could do. I was alone in a very dangerous situation. I tried to control myself and not show the world what was going on. I am very sorry. It's the situation I found myself in," Jantjie told Johannesburg's Star newspaper. He also admitted he takes medication for his condition, and does not know what caused his episode.
On Johannesburg radio, Jantjie was claiming to have done fine work at Mandela's memorial service. "Absolutely, absolutely. I think that I've been a champion of sign language," Jantjie said. "I'm not a failure. I deliver." He also stated he works for SA Interpreters, although Reuters could not track down that company and the African National Congress (ANC) denied knowledge.
An ANC spokesman, "I'm very, very surprised," spokesman Jackson Mthembu said, "We will follow this up. We are not sure if there is any truth in what has been said. I'm very, very surprised, we will follow this up. We are not sure if there is any truth in what has been said."
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