South African Ambassador to France Found Dead Outside Paris Hotel
South Africa’s Ambassador to France, Nkosinathi Emmanuel “Nathi” Mthethwa, was discovered dead in the courtyard of a high-rise hotel in Paris on Tuesday morning, just hours after he had expressed his intention to end his life in a message sent to his wife the night before. The tragic incident has sent shockwaves through South Africa’s diplomatic community and prompted an outpouring of grief from the nation’s leadership.
The 58-year-old diplomat was last seen by his wife shortly before 4:30 p.m. on Monday as he was scheduled to attend a cocktail party. Later that evening, at approximately 9:30 p.m., his wife received a distressing message from him in which he apologized and expressed his intention to end his life, prompting her to report him missing. At 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, a security guard made the grim discovery of Mthethwa’s body in the courtyard below the Hyatt Regency hotel in western Paris.
According to Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau, Mthethwa had booked a room on the 22nd floor of the Hyatt hotel approximately ten days before the incident and had checked in at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Hotel staff discovered that the window’s safety mechanism had been forced open with scissors that were left at the scene. Investigators found no signs of a struggle or traces of medication or narcotics at the scene, and while the death appeared to have been self-inflicted, French authorities have launched a comprehensive investigation to understand the circumstances fully.
Mthethwa’s career spanned decades of public service in South Africa. Born on January 23, 1967, in Clermont, a township outside Durban, he became active in the anti-apartheid movement as a teenager, joining the Klaarwater Youth Organisation in 1982. He rose to prominence in the African National Congress Youth League and was elected to the National Assembly in 2002.
In September 2008, President Kgalema Motlanthe appointed Mthethwa as Minister of Safety and Security, a position later renamed Minister of Police under President Jacob Zuma. His tenure as police minister from 2008 to 2014 was marked by controversy, including the ministry’s role in the 2012 Marikana massacre and the Nkandlagate controversy. In May 2014, he was appointed Minister of Arts and Culture, and in May 2019, his portfolio was expanded to include sports.
After failing to gain re-election to the ANC’s National Executive Committee in December 2022, President Cyril Ramaphosa removed Mthethwa from the cabinet in March 2023. He was appointed South Africa’s Ambassador to France in December 2023 and presented his credentials on February 29, 2024. In this capacity, he also served as South Africa’s permanent delegate to UNESCO in Paris.
South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation confirmed Mthethwa’s death “with deep sorrow and profound regret,” with Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola stating, “I have no doubt that his passing is not only a national loss but is also felt within the international diplomatic community”. President Cyril Ramaphosa eulogized the diplomat in a social media post, writing that Mthethwa had “served our nation in diverse capacities during a lifetime that has ended prematurely and traumatically”.
Mthethwa is survived by his wife, Philisiwe Buthelezi, a businesswoman and chief executive officer of the National Empowerment Fund, and their children. The South African government has expressed its condolences to the Mthethwa family during this time of profound grief, while French authorities continue their investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
