South Africa’s ambassador to France, Nkosinathi Emmanuel Nathi Mthethwa, was found dead on Tuesday outside a Paris hotel after the window of his 22nd-floor room was forced open, prosecutors confirmed.
The 58-year-old diplomat, a close ally of former President Jacob Zuma, had reportedly been battling depression, raising concerns that his death could have been a suicide. French authorities have opened an investigation to determine the exact circumstances. His wife had reported him missing on Monday evening after receiving a troubling message.
Mthethwa, who became ambassador in December 2023, previously held key cabinet positions, serving as South Africa’s Minister of Arts and Culture from 2014 to 2019, Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture until 2023, and earlier as Police and Security Minister. He was also a prominent member of the African National Congress (ANC), serving in various capacities between 2007 and 2022, and was part of the 2010 Football World Cup local organising committee.
Reacting to the news, President Cyril Ramaphosa described his death as “untimely” and “a moment of deep grief in which government and citizens stand beside the Mthethwa family.” A ministerial statement from South Africa confirmed that French authorities are investigating.
What you should know
Nathi Mthethwa, a former cabinet minister and South Africa’s ambassador to France, died in Paris under circumstances still being probed.
A veteran ANC member and anti-apartheid activist, he played major roles in government for over a decade before his diplomatic posting.
