JUST IN | SA ambassador Nathi Mthethwa found dead outside hotel – mystery surrounds fall

Nathi Mthethwa

Cape Town – South Africa’s ambassador to France, Nathi Mthethwa, has reportedly been found dead in Paris a day after being reported missing.

The 58-year-old diplomat’s body was discovered outside the Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile, with reports suggesting he fell from the 22nd floor, though the circumstances remain unclear.

According to Mirror, Mthethwa was reported missing by his wife, “who indicated having received a worrying message from him in the evening”.

His body was later discovered nearby, just above the Hyatt Hotel.

“He had booked a room on the 22nd floor, whose secure window was forced open.”

The report said that police initially deployed dogs from the canine brigade to the Bois de Boulogne — a park and botanical garden in Paris where Mthethwa’s phone last pinged — but the dogs could not find him there.

“Fearing a possible suicide, the police, supported by the dog squad, had searched the woods in western Paris,” the Paris prosecutor’s office said.

Both French and South African authorities have launched investigations, while DIRCO has yet to issue an official statement.

Mthethwa, a former Cabinet minister, was appointed ambassador earlier this year.

Mthethwa was recently implicated at the Madlanga Commission for alleged political interference while serving as police minister, The Citizen reported.

KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi testified that Mthethwa tried to persuade the Inspector General of Intelligence, Faith Radebe, to drop charges against former police crime intelligence head Richard Mdluli.

He is one of three KwaZulu-Natal police ministers implicated in political interference amid a rise in regional political killings, the report said.

This is a developing story

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