Nathi Mthethwa found dead after going missing. Image credit: eNCA.
(The Post News) – The family of the late Nathi Mthethwa, the South African ambassador to France, has officially denied rumours that he committed suicide and called for a full investigation into the “mysterious circumstances” surrounding his death in Paris.
In what French prosecutor Laure Beccuau first described as a likely “deliberate act, without the intervention of a third party,” Mthethwa, 58, died after falling from the 22nd floor of the Hyatt Regency Hotel. It’s noted that Mthethwa had sent his wife a final, apologetic message indicating his intent to end his life, and that scissors had been used to force open the room’s secure window.
However, relative Khulekani Mthethwa completely rejected the suicide story when speaking from the family home in KwaMbonambi, KwaZulu-Natal.
“My brother would not have feared appearing in front of the Madlanga Commission to answer for any allegations against him. He was not a coward,” Khulekani stated, arguing that Mthethwa, a former freedom fighter who “endured torture… at the hands of the Apartheid police,” would never take his own life to avoid accountability.
Security Questions and Frustration
Two main points of the family’s request for a thorough investigation are the purported lack of security and the official communication breakdown.
Khulekani Mthethwa demanded openness from the French police and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) regarding the movements of the Ambassador’s security detail from the time he vanished until his passing. Mthethwa did not have security detail at the time of his death, as DIRCO has previously verified.
Other family members, such as Musawokuphila Mthethwa, added to the grief by expressing their surprise and annoyance at finding out about the tragedy via social media and the media before getting any official word from the government or the ANC, the party Mthethwa had been a member of for decades.
“The truth is we didn’t get communication correctly and respectfully as the Mthethwa family,” Khulekani stated. “We wish that his party, which he loved and worked for, would get in touch with us and update us on what happened.” Since then, the ANC has acknowledged the worries and sent top members to support the grieving family.
The Commission and Mdluli
The family’s firm denial of suicide coincides with Mthethwa’s name continuing to be associated with the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, which is looking into corruption and criminal activity in the legal system.
According to testimony given by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi just one week before his passing, Mthethwa, in his capacity as former Police Minister (2009–2014), tried to thwart the prosecution and disciplinary action against Lieutenant-General Richard Mdluli, the head of Crime Intelligence at the time, who is currently being charged with fraud and corruption.
In December 2023, Mthethwa, a seasoned Member of Parliament and previous Minister of Police before moving on to Sport, Arts, and Culture, was named Ambassador. The family affirmed that after all official procedures with French authorities are finished, his remains will be returned to South Africa.
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