SOUTH Africa’s ambassador to France has died after reportedly plunging from the 22nd floor of a famous Paris hotel.
Nkosinathi “Nathi” Mthethwa, a veteran politician and diplomat, had been missing since Monday, sparking a police search after his wife alerted authorities.
AFPSouth Africa’s ambassador to France, Nkosinathi Mthethwa, has died in Paris[/caption]
AFPNathi Mthethwa (2nd R), his wife Philisiwe Buthelezi (L), flanked by French President Emmanuel Macron (2nd L) at the France 2023 Rugby World Cup Final in Paris[/caption]
Booking.comMthethwa’s body was found ‘right above the Hyatt Hotel’, prosecutors confirmed[/caption]
She said she had received a “worrying message” from the 58-year-old that evening, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.
Mthethwa’s phone was last traced near the Bois de Boulogne in western Paris around 3pm on Monday.
Fearing a possible suicide, officers and dog teams scoured a nearby wooded area.
But by lunchtime Tuesday, his body was discovered “right above the Hyatt Hotel”, prosecutors confirmed.
Paris cops have since opened an investigation into his death, with a duty magistrate also going to the scene.
Local media report the hotel room’s “secure window was forced open” before the fall.
Unconfirmed reports by French outlet Le Parisien claim the diplomat plunged from the four-star hotel’s 22nd floor.
The South African embassy in Paris has not yet commented.
French authorities have not ruled out suicide but say the investigation is ongoing.
Mthethwa was a towering figure in South African politics.
Once an anti-apartheid activist, he rose through the ANC to become organising secretary of its Youth League.
He chaired the parliament’s mines and energy committee, and later served as police minister under presidents Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma.
Mthethwa went on to head Arts and Culture and then Sports, Arts and Culture until 2023.
He was then named ambassador to France and South Africa’s permanent delegate to UNESCO in early 2024.
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GettyLocal media reports claim he plunged from the 22nd floor of a hotel[/caption]
GettyMthethwa (left) had been missing since Monday[/caption]