South African ambassador had faced corruption claims before he was found dead at foot of Paris hotel

French prosecutors are investigating the death of South Africa’s ambassador to France, Nkosinathi Emmanuel “Nathi” Mthethwa, whose body was discovered at the foot of a high-rise Paris hotel.

Early findings from authorities suggest Mthethwa, 58, apparently fell from the hotel on Monday, hours after sending a “disturbing message” to his wife indicating he planned to take his own life.

Mthethwa began serving as South Africa’s envoy to France in December 2023. His long, high-profile career included stints as Police Minister and as the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture. As a young man, Mthethwa campaigned against apartheid and rose through the ranks of the African National Congress (ANC) party. He 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 praised him as “a distinguished servant of the nation, whose career was marked by dedicated service.”

However, Mthethwa’s tenure in public service was also shadowed by serious corruption allegations, which he consistently denied. An ally of former President Jacob Zuma, Mthethwa was entangled in probes by several commissions. One 2019 investigation heard testimony alleging that a luxury vehicle was acquired for him while he was Police Minister using funds secretly diverted from a secret service account, as reported by state broadcaster SABC.

More recently, Mthethwa faced an ongoing probe that included accusations from a provincial police commissioner that he had attempted to obstruct the prosecution of a former head of South Africa’s Crime Intelligence Services who was under investigation for corruption. Mthethwa was reportedly expected to respond to these allegations prior to his sudden death.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that Mthethwa’s life “ended prematurely and traumatically,” though he praised his service to the nation.
Conversely, opposition lawmaker Carl Niehaus publicly stated his belief that “the death of Nathi Mthethwa was not a natural death,” suggesting it “happened under what are evidently suspicious circumstances.”

Paris’ public prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that Mthethwa had booked a room on the 22nd floor of the Hyatt hotel about 10 days earlier and 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 prosecutor noted that hotel staff found that “the window’s safety mechanism had been forced open with scissors left at the scene” in his room. Investigators further reported finding “no signs of a struggle or traces of medication or narcotics.”

The official statement concluded: “While initial investigations suggest that this may have been a deliberate act, without third-party intervention, the purpose of this investigation is to gather any evidence useful to understanding the facts.”