4d ago

South Africa's ambassador to France found dead in Paris

www.dw.com

South Africa's ambassador to France found dead in Paris – DW – 09/30/2025

Ambassador Nkosinathi Emmanuel "Nathi" Mthethwa's body was discovered outside a Paris hotel. The circumstances of his death are under investigation.
South Africa's ambassador to France, Nkosinathi Emmanuel "Nathi" Mthethwa, was found dead outside the Hyatt Regency hotel in the west of Paris on Tuesday, according to the local prosecutor's office.
Mthethwa was 58-years-old and had been serving as ambassador to France since his appointment in December 2023.

South Africa @lemmy.world

johsny @lemmy.world

4d ago

South Africa's ambassador to France found dead in Paris

www.dw.com /en/south-africas-ambassador-to-france-found-dead-in-paris/a-74190786

8 comments

Oh, damn. I assumed that this was another headline trying to play up a heart attack or something, but this, in fact, does not sound good:
The Paris prosecutors' office said Mthethwa had been reported missing by his wife on Monday evening after she received a text message from him that had worried her.
The prosecutor's office said Mthethwa booked a room on the 22nd floor of the Hyatt Regency hotel in the 17th arrondissement of Paris and that a secured window had been forced open.
- I was wondering what sort of grudge someone might have against him, then i looked for some other articles and they went into a bit more detail. NYT is shit, but i doubt they are making the details up here.
  https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/world/europe/mthethwa-south-africa-ambassador-france-dead.html
  The room’s window had been forced open with scissors that were left at the scene, and Mr. Mthethwa’s body was found in the hotel’s courtyard shortly after 11 a.m. by a security guard, Ms. Beccuau said.
  Mr. Mthethwa’s wife had reported him missing to the police on Monday evening after he sent her a message “in which he apologized to her and expressed the intention to end his life,” Ms. Beccuau said.
  
  He was apparently Minister of Police when the South African police murdered several dozen striking miners and faced no consequences over it, so I could see a possibility that it's someome seeking revenge over that (but with the disclaimer that I did not know anything about him before today)
- The Russians maybe?
- I can't imagine why they would have any particular opinions about him? Russia has demonstrated its willingness to carry out assassinations abroad, but Russia and SA are on pretty good terms and this guy doesn’t seem to have ever held a role that would be likely to get Russia to dislike him
Sounds like something that would happen in Moscow, not Paris. Curious.
- Except he served under ANC and was arrested by the apartheid government.
assassinated

8 comments