By Zukile Majova
- Police in Paris were searching for Mthethwa after his wife got a worrying message. Hours later, he was found dead at the Hyatt Hotel.
- Mthethwa was a fierce Zuma loyalist who helped rescue Zuma’s career in 2005 after his axing as deputy president by Thabo Mbeki.
South Africa’s ambassador to France, Nathi Mthethwa, has died after falling from the 22nd floor of the Hyatt Hotel in Paris in what French authorities fear was a suicide.
Paris police started searching for him on Monday, 29 September, after his cellphone last rang near the Bois de Boulogne woods at around 3pm. A dog unit was brought in to comb the forest.
His wife had alerted authorities after receiving a troubling message from him that evening.
Just hours later, he was found dead at the luxury hotel in the 16th arrondissement. He was 58 years old.
Mthethwa had only been in the ambassador role for a few months, having officially presented his credentials in February 2024. His appointment was seen by many as President Cyril Ramaphosa’s way of sidelining a known Jacob Zuma loyalist from active politics.
He was born on 23 January 1967 in Clermont, KwaZulu-Natal, and climbed the ranks of the African National Congress Youth League before becoming a Member of Parliament in 2002.
But it was in 2005 that Mthethwa made a name for himself — not for policy or public service, but for fiercely defending Jacob Zuma during one of the lowest moments of his political career.
At the time, President Thabo Mbeki had fired Zuma as deputy president of the country after the High Court ruled there was a corrupt relationship between Zuma and his financial adviser Schabir Shaik.
Zuma’s political enemies thought it was the end of the road for him. A faction within the ANC backing Mbeki was ready to finish him off at the party’s National General Council (NGC) later that year.
But Mthethwa — then a relatively unknown backbencher — shocked many when he stood up at the NGC and publicly declared that Zuma would not step down as deputy president of the ANC.
This bold stance sparked a wave of support for Zuma, especially among delegates from KwaZulu-Natal, who rallied behind Mthethwa and shifted the mood of the conference.
Instead of burying Zuma’s career, the NGC became the turning point that revived it. From that moment, Zuma began his campaign to take over the presidency of the ANC — and eventually, the country.
Mthethwa was rewarded handsomely. In 2008, after Zuma’s victory over Mbeki at the ANC’s elective conference in Polokwane, Mthethwa was appointed chief whip of the ANC. He later became Minister of Safety and Security under President Kgalema Motlanthe, then Minister of Police under Zuma, and finally Minister of Arts and Culture and Sports, Arts and Culture under Zuma and Ramaphosa.
However, his time in government was plagued with controversy.
As Minister of Police, he was in charge during the August 2012 Marikana massacre, where police shot and killed 34 striking mine workers. He faced tough criticism from the public and civil society over the police’s actions, though he denied involvement.
He was also linked to the Nkandla scandal, after it emerged that money from the police’s crime intelligence slush fund had been used to pay for upgrades at Zuma’s private home. He denied wrongdoing, but his reputation never recovered.
Despite holding some of the most powerful positions in government, Mthethwa was often accused of doing little with them. Critics say he failed to make any lasting contribution to governance.
In 2023, Ramaphosa dropped him from cabinet and appointed him ambassador to France.
His death on 30 September 2025 has shocked both the diplomatic and political communities.
Pictured above: South African ambassador to France, Nathi Mthethwa, has died.
Image source: GCIS
