The South African Ambassador to France has ‘plunged to his death from the 22nd floor’ of a Paris hotel.
The body of Nkosinathi Emmanuel Mthethwa, who also served as the Ambassador to Monaco and the Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, was found on Tuesday ‘right above the Hyatt Hotel’ at Porte Maillot, the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed.
The 58-year-old diplomat is believed to have jumped from the 22nd floor of the 4-star hotel, according to local reports.
‘He had booked a room on the 22nd floor, whose secure window was forced open,’ the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
It comes just a day after Mthethwa was reported missing by his wife, ‘who indicated having received a worrying message from him in the evening,’ the prosecutor’s office added.
According to initial evidence, the politician’s phone was last used at around 3pm on Monday near the Bois de Boulogne in Paris.
One of his last public appearances was at the 109th Anniversary of the Battle of Delville Wood marked in Longueval, Departement de la Somme, on Saturday.
An investigation was opened following Mthethwa’s wife’s missing persons report and fearing a potential suicide, police deployed search teams, including dog units, to patrol the wooded area in western Paris.
The body of Nkosinathi Emmanuel Mthethwa, who also served as the Ambassador to Monaco and the Permanent Delegate to UNESCO , was found Tuesday at the Hyatt Hotel at Porte Maillot
The 58-year-old diplomat is believed to have jumped from the 22nd floor of the 4-star hotel (pictured), according to local reports
Mthethwa was posted to the French Embassy in February 2024. A prominent politician, he began his career in the anti-apartheid trade union struggle.
He rose to prominence by becoming the organising secretary of the ANC Youth League in 1994, a position he held until 2001.
He joined the South African National Assembly in 2002, where he chaired the parliamentary committee on mines and energy between 2004 and 2008.
In September 2008, he became Minister of Safety and Security in the Motlanthe government.
He retained this position in the Zuma government – renamed the Ministry of Police – before becoming Minister of Arts and Culture after Jacob Zuma’s re-election.
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