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Did Nathi Mthethwa wife receive worrying message from him? All we know about his ‘missing report’ before death
Nkosinathi Mthethwa, the South African ambassador to France, was found dead outside a Paris hotel after his wife reported him missing.
Nkosinathi Emmanuel Mthethwa, the South African ambassador to France, was discovered dead outside a hotel in Paris about 24 hours after his wife reported him missing.
The Paris prosecutor's office stated that Mthethwa's body was discovered Tuesday “right above the Hyatt Hotel” at Porte Maillot on Tuesday.
According to French media, the 58-year-old ambassador is thought to have plunged from the 22nd story of the four-star hotel.
“He had booked a room on the 22nd floor, whose secure window was forced open,” the Paris prosecutor's office stated.
He was also the Permanent Delegate to UNESCO and the Ambassador to Monaco.
Nathi Mthethwa's wife reported him missing after receiving worrying message
According to the Paris prosecutor's office, Mthethwa's wife reported him missing. She “indicated having received a worrying message from him in the evening.”
Initial finding suggests that the politician last used his phone on Monday at around 3 pm in the vicinity of Paris's Bois de Boulogne.
He made one of his final public appearances on Saturday during the 109th Anniversary of the Battle of Delville Wood, which was commemorated at Longueval, Département de la Somme.
Nathi Mthethwa missing report prompted police search
Following the missing persons report from Mthethwa's wife, police launched an investigation and sent search teams, including dog units, to patrol the forested area in western Paris in anticipation of a possible suicide.
French officials are still looking into the events surrounding the ambassador's death.
In February 2024, Mthethwa joined the French Embassy. He started his career in the anti-apartheid trade union movement and eventually became a well-known politician.
Mthethwa gained notoriety in 1994 when he was appointed ANC Youth League organizing secretary, a role he maintained until 2001.
He became a member of the South African National Assembly in 2002, and he presided over the parliamentary committee on energy and mining from 2004 to 2008.
He was appointed Minister of Safety and Security in the Motlanthe administration in September 2008.
