Nkosinathi Emmanuel Mthethwa, the ambassador of South Africa to France reportedly “plunged to his death from the 22nd floor” of a hotel in Paris. ‘Nathi’ was his well-known nickname.
The Paris prosecutor's office stated that the officials found the 58-year-old diplomat's body on Tuesday “right above the Hyatt Hotel” at Porte Maillot.
The prosecutor's office also noted that Mthethwa's wife reported him missing yesterday, suggesting that she “received a worrying message from him in the evening.”
Mthethwa's phone was last located on Monday at around 3 pm near the Bois de Boulogne in western Paris, as per French media.
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Nathi Mthethwa's death probe on
After his wife alerted the police, officers and canine teams searched a neighboring forested area in fear of a potential suicide.
His death is now being investigated by Paris police, and a duty magistrate is also visiting the area.
{{/usCountry}}His death is now being investigated by Paris police, and a duty magistrate is also visiting the area.
{{/usCountry}}The hotel room's “secure window was forced open” before the fall, as per local media.
The inquiry is still underway, said French police, who have not ruled out suicide.
Who is Philisiwe Buthelezi? All we know about Nkosinathi Emmanuel Mthethwa's wife
Nathi was wed to Philisiwe Buthelezi, a businesswoman, whom he met during an African National Congress meeting.
They both got married in a lavish ceremony on February 16, 2013. Several political figures, including President Jacob Zuma, attended their wedding.
Nathi Mthethwa's net worth in 2025
While information about Mthethwa's salary and assets is hardly available, some reports claim that his net worth was around 1.25 million.
Born in 23 January 1967 in KwaZulu Natal in South Africa, Mthethwa went on to serve as the Republic of South Africa's Minister of Arts and Culture from May 26, 2014 to 2019. Later, he was appointed as the Sport, Arts, and Culture Minister from 2019 to 2023.
He was a member of the African National Congress's (ANC) National Executive Committee (NEC), which made decisions between conferences and was the party's primary executive body, from 2007 to 2022. He was also a member of the ruling party of South Africa's National Working Committee (NWC) at the same time. In addition to making recommendations to the NEC, the NWC is in charge of the party's daily operations.
He served as a member of parliament between 2002 and 2023. He actively participated in KwaZulu Natal's (KZN) King Dingiswayo branch of the ANC.
In 1990, he was chosen to serve as the ANC's first Branch Secretary in Klaarwater, KZN.