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Thamsanqa Jantjie, the sign interpreter at Nelson Mandela’s memorial who is accused of making up gestures, has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital, local media report.

Thamsanqa Jantjie “might have had a breakdown”, his wife Siziwe is quoted as saying.

Sign language experts accused Thamsanqa Jantjie of referring to “prawns” and “rocking horses” while translating eulogies at Nelson Mandela’s memorial last week.

Thamsanqa Jantjie said he suffered a sudden attack of schizophrenia.

He insisted he was a qualified interpreter.

South Africa’s Deputy Disability Minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu has said the company which had employed him had “vanished”.

Thamsanqa Jantjie has been admitted to Johannesburg psychiatric hospital

Thamsanqa Jantjie has been admitted to Johannesburg psychiatric hospital

Thamsanqa Jantjie’s wife took him to a psychiatric hospital near Johannesburg for a check-up on Tuesday, and it was suggested that he be admitted immediately, Johannesburg’s The Star newspaper reports.

“The past few days have been hard. We have been supportive because he might have had a breakdown,” Siziwe Jantjie is quoted as saying.

Last week, Thamsanqa Jantjie said he was supposed to have gone for a check-up on the day of the memorial, but he postponed it.

During the memorial at Johannesburg’s FNB stadium, which was broadcast live around the world, Thamsanqa Jantjie stood on the stage next to key speakers including President Barack Obama, South African President Jacob Zuma and Nelson Mandela’s grandchildren, translating their eulogies.

Thamsanqa Jantjie blamed his flawed interpretation on a schizophrenic episode, saying he had seen angels coming into the stadium.

The White House has downplayed fears that he was a security risk to President Obama.

Sign language experts said Thamsanqa Jantjie had made “funny gestures” and little more than “flapping his arms around”.

The governing African National Congress (ANC) said it had used Thamsanqa Jantjie as an interpreter several times before, and “had not been aware of any of complaints regarding the quality of services, qualifications or reported illnesses” of the interpreter.

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Thamsanqa Jantjie – the South African sign language interpreter accused of gesticulating gibberish during Nelson Mandela’s memorial service – defended his “champion” performance Thursday, but said he may have suffered a schizophrenic episode while on stage.

Thamsanqa Jantjie, 34, told Johannesburg’s Star newspaper he started hearing voices in his head and hallucinating, resulting in gestures that made no sense to outraged deaf people around the world.

“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,” Thamsanqa Jantjie told the paper.

He did not know what triggered the attack, saying he took medication for his schizophrenia.

Thamsanqa Jantjie said he may have suffered a schizophrenic episode while on stage at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service

Thamsanqa Jantjie said he may have suffered a schizophrenic episode while on stage at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service

Millions of TV viewers saw Thamsanqa Jantjie interpreting Tuesday at Nelson Mandela’s memorial attended by leaders from around the world, but South Africa’s leading deaf association on Wednesday denounced him as a fake, saying he was inventing signs.

However, in a radio interview, Thamsanqa Jantjie said he was happy with his performance at the memorial.

“Absolutely, absolutely. I think that I’ve been a champion of sign language,” he told Talk Radio 702.

The controversy has overshadowed South Africa’s 10-day farewell to Nelson Mandela, whose remains were lying in state for a second day Thursday at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, where he was sworn in as the nation’s first black president in 1994.

Revelations about Thamsanqa Jantjie’s unconventional gestures – experts said he did not know even basic signs such as  “thank you” or “Mandela” – sparked a hunt for the mystery signer on Wednesday.

The government, which was in charge of the mass memorial, said it had no idea who he was, as did the ruling African National Congress (ANC), even though footage from two large ANC events last year showed him signing on stage next to President Jacob Zuma.

Thamsanqa Jantjie said he worked for a company called SA Interpreters, which had been hired by the ANC for Tuesday’s ceremony at Johannesburg’s 95,000-seat Soccer City stadium.

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