By Ayomide Otitoju
South Africa’s ambassador to France and former cabinet minister, Nkosinathi Emmanuel “Nathi” Mthethwa, was found dead on Tuesday outside a Paris hotel under circumstances now under investigation by French authorities. He was 58.
According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, Mthethwa had checked into a room on the 22nd floor of the high-rise hotel, where the secured window was found forced open. His body was later discovered directly outside the building.
A source close to the case told AFP that Mthethwa had a history of depression, suggesting his death may have been suicide. His wife had earlier reported him missing on Monday after receiving a troubling message from him in the evening.
President Cyril Ramaphosa described the ambassador’s passing as “untimely” and “a moment of deep grief in which government and citizens stand beside the Mthethwa family.”
“Ambassador Mthethwa has served our nation in diverse capacities during a lifetime that has ended prematurely and traumatically,” Ramaphosa said.
The South African government confirmed that French authorities have launched an investigation into the circumstances of his death.
Mthethwa had a long career in public service, serving as South Africa’s minister of police from 2009 to 2014, minister of arts and culture from 2014 to 2019, and minister of sports, arts and culture until 2023. He was also a senior member of the African National Congress (ANC) between 2007 and 2022 and a close associate of former President Jacob Zuma.
During apartheid, he worked underground within the ANC’s armed wing and was arrested during the state of emergency in 1989. He later served on the board of the 2010 FIFA World Cup local organising committee
