Maybe now we will blame illness.
Yahoo news reported that the sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela's funeral has said a schizophrenic episode was to blame for accusations that he was an imposter who gesticulated nonsense during the entire service.
In an interview Thursday with the Johannesburg daily, The Star, Jantjie put his behaviour down to a sudden attack of schizophrenia, for which he takes medication.
He told the newspaper that he lost concentration, started hearing voices and hallucinating.
"There was nothing I could do. I was alone in a very dangerous situation," he said. "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," he added.
Asked why he didn't just leave the stage, Jantjie said that, given the historic importance of the event, he felt compelled to stay even though he could not hear or concentrate properly.
"Life is unfair. This illness is unfair," he said.
"Anyone who doesn't understand this illness will think that I'm just making this up," he added.
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