Early findings by French prosecutors into the death of South Africa’s ambassador to France, Nkosinathi Emmanuel “Nathi” Mthethwa who was discovered outside a Paris hotel dead.
It is suggested Mthethwa had apparently fallen from a high-rise Paris hotel on Monday, hours after sending a “disturbing message” to his wife that he planned to kill himself.
Mthethwa, 58, began serving as South Africa’s envoy to France in December 2023 – his latest role in a series of high-profile portfolios that included stints as police minister, as well as the minister of sports, arts and culture.
Mthethwa also served in the nation’s parliament and sat on the board of directors for the 2010 FIFA World Cup local organizing committee.
South Africa’s government described him as“a distinguished servant of the nation, whose career was marked by dedicated service.”
However, Mthethwa’s illustrious career in public service was also marred by corruption scandals, which he denied in his lifetime. He was entangled in probes by several commissions. This included one investigation in 2019 that heard testimony from an ex-crime intelligence official, who alleged that a luxury vehicle was acquired for Mthethwa during his time as police minister – with funds removed from the secret service account, state broadcaster SABC reported at the time. Mthethwa denied those claims.
Mthethwa also faced an ongoing probe that heard allegations by a provincial police commissioner who accused him of attempting to obstruct the prosecution of a former head of South Africa’s Crime Intelligence Services who was being investigated for corruption.
Mthethwa was expected to respond to the allegations before his sudden death.
In a statement Tuesday, Paris’ public prosecutor Laure Beccuau said Mthethwa had booked a room on the 22nd floor of the Hyatt hotel about 10 days before and had checked in at 4:30 p.m. on Monday “after leaving his Paris home.”
His body was discovered in the courtyard below by a security guard at 11:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, the statement noted.