The South African sign language interpreter accused of faking gestures during the memorial service for the iconic Nelson Mandela has said he may have suffered a schizophrenic episode during the performance.

Thamsanqa Jantjie, 34, nonetheless said in a radio interview that he was happy with the job he did on Tuesday (Dec. 10), when he was seen by millions around the world standing alongside US President Barack Obama and other leaders from around the world.

Asked if he was pleased with his performance, Jantjie told South Africa’s Talk Radio 702: “Absolutely, absolutely. I think that I’ve been a champion of sign language.”

In another interview, he told Johannesburg’s Star newspaper he started hearing voices in his head and hallucinating while up on stage.

That was not all; speaking to the Associated Press, Jantjie said he had visions of angels coming into the stadium and was doing his best not to panic because of the “armed policemen around me.”

He said the episode made it difficult for him to hear what was actually being said, and could have accounted for the gestures which “had no meaning” and led to Bruno Druchen, the national director of the Deaf Federation of South Africa, branding him a “fake”.

Jantjie told the paper he was receiving treatment for schizophrenia, and apologised if the episode had offended deaf people around the world.

“There was nothing I could do,” he said. “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.”

The revelations about the interpreter’s unusual gestures led to calls yesterday for him to explain himself. Experts said he seemed to show an alarming lack of basic knowledge, failing to complete basic signs such as “thank you” or “Mandela”.

•Story largely based on an Independent (UK) report.