The South African ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Monday distanced itself from a bogus language sign interpreter who gesticulated gibberish during former President Nelson Mandela's memorial service last week.

"The ANC reiterates that the organization did not take part in the government process to procure the service provider for the memorial service," ANC national spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said in a statement.

Mthembu said the ANC supports the government to probe the incident.

Thami Jantjie, the sign language interpreter, has come under fire from organizations representing deaf people worldwide for gesticulating gibberish during Mandela's memorial service at the FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, on Tuesday.

Jantijie interpreted the speeches of scores of dignitaries at the memorial service, with sign language which the deaf community maintain they could not understand.

The Sunday Times reported that Jantjie was employed by a company owned by the ANC's religious and traditional affairs desk head, Bantubahle Xozwa.

The paper quoted Xozwa as saying that Jantjie was employed as an administrator and facilitator in his company, South African Interpreters.

"Thamsanqa is not an interpreter," Xozwa said. "He was disqualified years ago on the basis of his health. He was interpreting at the memorial service in his personal capacity."

The government has pledged to probe the incident which has sparked public outrage.

The incident has led to unanswered questions as how Jantjie could come to the center stage at such a sublime and somber event. Some members of the public even suspected corruption in the event.

After the incident, Jantjie told various media organizations that he had schizophrenic. He said he suffered a schizophrenia episode during the memorial, losing concentration and hallucinating.