The bogus sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela's memorial says he has interpreted for years at big events for the South African government and the ruling party.
Thamsanqa Jantjie said on Tuesday that he has records to prove that he worked at official events in the past.
He also said he was undergoing a medical examination on Tuesday at a psychiatric hospital west of Johannesburg.
The hospital says it cannot divulge information about patients.
A cousin and three friends of Jantjie say he was part of a mob that accosted two men found with a stolen television and burned them to death by setting fire to tires placed around their necks in 2003.
They said he never went to trial for the 2003 killings when other suspects did because authorities determined he was not mentally fit to stand trial.
Jantjie has said he has schizophrenia and hallucinated during the December 10 memorial for Mandela.
On Tuesday, Jantjie said in a telephone interview that he had been hired by a company called South African Interpreters, which had used him on a freelance basis for years.
"Everyone knows I am an interpreter. I've been interpreting for years, at big events, even for the government and the ANC," he said.
Jantjie said he had records to prove that the company had hired him, and said the wife of company owner, Bantubahle Xozwa, had accredited him for the Mandela memorial.
The Sunday Times, a South African newspaper, quoted Xozwa, who is also the head of a religious and traditional affairs agency of the ANC, as saying Jantjie had interpreted at the memorial in his personal capacity.
Xozwa told the newspaper that Jantjie was an administrator in his company but was not an interpreter because he was "was disqualified years ago on the basis of his health".
