South Africa’s ambassador to France found dead below high-rise hotel in Paris

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

(CNN) — South Africa’s ambassador to France has been found dead at the foot of a high-rise hotel in Paris, hours after he was reported missing, prosecutors in the city told CNN.

Nkosinathi Emmanuel “Nathi” Mthethwa, was “discovered directly below” a Hyatt Hotel in Paris on Tuesday, according to the prosecutor’s office, which added that the envoy had booked a room on the 22nd floor. The secure window in the room “was forced open,” the office said, adding that the duty magistrate was on scene.

Mthethwa’s wife had reported him missing on Monday, saying she had received a “disturbing message” from him, according to the prosecutor’s office.

CNN has reached out to the Hyatt Group of hotels and the Hyatt Regency, but has not received any 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, 58, 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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