Mandela Interpreter Admitted to Psych Ward

Wife: 'He might have had a breakdown'
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 19, 2013 7:01 AM CST
Mandela Interpreter Admitted to Psych Ward
In this file photo from Dec.10, 2013, Thamsanqa Jantjie, right, interprets in sign language for President Barack Obama during his remarks at Nelson Mandela's memorial.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

The interpreter who did little more than flap his arms around during Nelson Mandela's memorial is now in the hospital after a psychiatric evaluation. Thamsanqa Jantjie, who acknowledged suffering from hallucinations and schizophrenia, went for a check-up at a hospital near Johannesburg on Tuesday and was admitted immediately, the BBC reports via South Africa's Star newspaper. Jantjie had previously said he skipped a check-up to sign at the memorial. According to his wife: "He might have had a breakdown." (More interpreters stories.)

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