Paris – South Africa’s ambassador to France, Nathi Mthethwa, has been found dead in Paris under circumstances that have left both French and South African authorities searching for answers.
The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed that Mthethwa’s wife received a troubling message from him on Monday evening. Alarmed, she alerted authorities, sparking a search in western Paris. His body was later discovered on Tuesday at a hotel in the French capital. Reports from French and British media suggest that he may have fallen from the 22nd floor of a four star hotel, where the window of his room had been forced open.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation released a statement confirming his death, describing it as an untimely passing. International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola said the loss was not only national but would also be deeply felt in the diplomatic community.
Mthethwa, aged 57, had been serving in Paris since February last year. Just days before his death, he attended the 109th anniversary of the Battle of Delville Wood in Longueval, France, where he laid a wreath at the tomb of Private Beleza Myengwa, a South African Labour Corps soldier from the First World War.
Reactions to his death have been marked by shock, with some senior ANC figures saying they struggle to accept that he may have taken his own life.
Before his diplomatic posting, Mthethwa held several key cabinet positions. He served as Minister of Arts and Culture from 2014 to 2019, and as Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture from 2019 to 2023. Earlier, from 2009 to 2014, he was Minister of Police. Between 2007 and 2022, he was also part of the ANC’s National Executive Committee and National Working Committee.
His career, however, was not without controversy. He was recently named at the Madlanga Commission, where he was accused of attempting to influence intelligence officials during his tenure as police minister in order to protect former crime intelligence head Richard Mdluli. He had also been listed among witnesses expected to face questioning by Parliament’s ad hoc committee on alleged misconduct and collusion within the police.
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