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Thamsanqa Jantjie, 34, who said a schizophrenic fit distracted him from providing proper sign language during the Nelson Mandela memorial service, has a rap sheet that includes charges of murder, rape and kidnapping, according to a report. Many of the charges were later dropped in court because he was mentally unfit to stand trial, the Voice of Russia reported. 

The "fake" sign language interpreter who said he suffered a schizophrenic fit onstage at Nelson Mandela's memorial service has a criminal history that includes charges of rape and murder, according to a report.

Thamsanqa Jantjie - who stood near several world leaders, including President Obama, during the event at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg - was arrested five times for the past twenty years, during the court trial he was confirmed to be mentally unstable to go through the trial. In 1994 he was accused of the rape, eventually this accuse was changed to theft and he was sentenced to three years in prison. In 2003 he had another sentence for attempted murder and kidnapping. His condition was then confirmed as mentally unstable and the outcome of that trial is still not clear. Jantjie refused to comment about the arrests, but has acknowledged he has schizophrenia.

He has also admitted that he has spent more than a year in a mental institution and he was supposed to check in with the doctor at the same day when Nelson Mandela memorial was held. So he decided to change his plans and attend the service instead. He managed to persuade the staff that he is qualified for the job and that he has studied sign language in the university in the UK. He stated that he took the course at the University of Tecturers, although the online researchers couldn’t find such school.

After his "work", Mr. Jantjie said that he saw the angels that kept distracting him from his work.

Later he said to one of the newspapers: "I was in a very difficult position. And remember those people, the president and everyone, they were armed. There was armed police around me. If I start panicking, I’ll start a problem. I have to deal with this in a manner so that I mustn’t embarrass my country."

South African government officials stated they have launched the investigation about him as well as about how he was hired for the job.