South African Ambassador to France, Nathi Mthethwa. Image credit: eNCA.
After arriving at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, the diplomat’s body was flown and taken to King Shaka International Airport in Durban. ANC provincial and national leaders, as well as members of the public, attended a sombre yet official welcome ceremony at the airport precinct.
Siboniso Duma, KZN MEC for Transport, received the body, honouring a “son of the soil” and emphasising Mthethwa’s ancestry’s connection to the Mthethwa Kingdom, which was crucial to King Shaka Zulu’s ascent.
On Saturday afternoon, the body would be moved to the family homestead in KwaMbonambi after being carried to a mortuary in Empangeni. Before the Special Official Funeral, the family home will host a night vigil.
On Sunday, there will be a special official funeral.
The 58-year-old Ambassador Mthethwa passed away last week following a fall from a Paris hotel on the 22nd floor. The SAPS will perform ceremonial aspects of the Special Official Funeral Category 2, which President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared.
Memorials and Tributes
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) held an official memorial service in Pretoria earlier on Friday, which was followed by the body’s arrival.
Leading the remembrances was Ronald Lamola, Minister of International Relations, who called the late Ambassador “a giant of thought and service” and acknowledged the “monumental loss” to the diplomatic corps. He was hailed as a “servant of the people” whose efforts improved South Africa’s standing internationally. Former Ministers Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Malusi Gigaba, as well as ANC Deputy Secretary General Nomvula Mokonyane, were among the luminaries who visited the Pretoria memorial.
Former Police Minister Bheki Cele publicly questioned the speed and preliminary findings of Mthethwa’s death circumstances during a separate memorial service on Thursday, saying it was “too early to conclude.” Both French authorities and a senior officer assigned by the SAPS for liaison purposes are still investigating Mthethwa’s killing.
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