DHAKA: A South African deputy Cabinet minister says ‘a mistake happened’ in the hiring of a sign-language interpreter for the Nelson Mandela memorial service who experts say was signing gibberish on stage next to world leaders.

Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu said on Thursday that government officials have tried to track down the company that provided Thamsanqa Jantjie but that the co-owners ‘have vanished into thin air’.

The Deputy Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities Bogopane-Zulu apologised to deaf people offended around the world by what they say was Jantjie’s incomprehensible signing.

She says an investigation is under way to determine how Jantjie received a security clearance, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1933 HRS, DEC 12, 2013
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor