South Africa’s ambassador to France, found dead at Paris hotel, told wife he intended ‘to end his life’: official

By Eve Brennan, Pierre Bairin, Joseph Ataman and Max Saltman, CNN

(CNN) — South Africa’s ambassador to France had “expressed his intention to end his life” in a message to his wife the night before he was found dead in the courtyard of a high-rise hotel, Paris’ public prosecutor said Tuesday.

Nkosinathi Emmanuel “Nathi” Mthethwa’s wife had reported him missing on Monday, having last seen him shortly before 4:30 p.m. as “he was scheduled to attend a cocktail party,” prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement.

“(She) then received a message from him shortly after 9:30 p.m., in which he apologized and expressed his intention to end his life,” Beccuau added.

The 58-year-old envoy had booked a room on the 22nd floor of the Hyatt hotel about 10 days before, Beccuau wrote, and had checked in at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.

At 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, a security guard discovered Mthethwa’s body in the courtyard below.

Beccuau said hotel staff had noticed “the window’s safety mechanism had been forced open with scissors left at the scene.”

“Investigators found no signs of a struggle or traces of medication or narcotics,” the prosecutor said, adding that while Mthethwa’s death appeared to have been self-inflicted, law enforcement would conduct an investigation “to gather any evidence useful to understanding the facts.”

CNN has reached out to the Hyatt Group of hotels and the Hyatt Regency for comment.

South Africa’s foreign ministry confirmed Mthethwa’s death “with deep sorrow and profound regret” in a statement on Tuesday, expressing condolences to the ambassador’s family.

“I have no doubt that his passing is not only a national loss but is also felt within the international diplomatic community,” South Africa’s Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said, according to Tuesday’s statement.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa eulogized Mthethwa in a post on social media on Tuesday, writing that the diplomat had “served our nation in diverse capacities during a lifetime that has ended prematurely and traumatically.”

Mthethwa was appointed ambassador to France in December 2023. He had previously served as a member of South Africa’s parliament and as minister of sports, arts and culture, according to his embassy profile.

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