At the same time, a government minister acknowledged on Thursday that Mr. Jantjie, whose first language was Xhosa, one of the most widespread among South Africa’s 11 official languages, was “not a professional sign language interpreter” and “the English was a bit too much for him.” He had been hired at less than half the top rate for the job and the company that supplied him had “vanished into thin air,” said Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, the Deputy Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities…

In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, Mr. Jantjie acknowledged his condition, saying: “What happened that day, I see angels come to the stadium.”

“I start realizing that the problem is here. And the problem, I don’t know the attack of this problem, how will it come. Sometimes I get violent on that place. Sometimes I will see things chasing me.”

“I was in a very difficult position,” Mr. Jantjie went on. “And remember those people, the president and everyone, they were armed, there was armed police around me. If I start panicking I’ll start being a problem. I have to deal with this in a manner so that I mustn’t embarrass my country.”

“I would like to tell everybody that if I have offended them, please forgive me. I was doing what I believe makes a difference in the country,” he said.