Nkosinathi Emmanuel Mthethwa, South Africa’s ambassador to France, has reportedly died after falling from a Paris hotel at the age of 58.
Mthethwa’s body was discovered at the Hyatt Hotel near the Porte Maillot metro station in western Paris on Tuesday, Sept. 30, after a fall from the 22nd floor in an apparent suicide, Reuters and Le Parisien reported, citing the Paris prosecutor’s office.
According to authorities, Mthethwa was reported missing by his wife the previous day after she received a “worrying message from him in the evening,” the prosecutor’s office told the outlet.
His phone last registered a signal at 3:00 p.m. local time on Monday near the public park Bois de Boulogne in Paris, prompting a police search with the aid of dogs in the surrounding area and woods in western Paris, according to Le Parisien.
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A spokesperson for South Africa’s foreign affairs department said in a statement to Reuters that they were “aware of unfortunate reports pertaining to Ambassador Nathi Mthethwa” and would provide further updates at a later time.
The Brigade for the Suppression of Crimes Against Persons (BRDP) of the Paris judicial police is investigating the incident, with a duty magistrate reportedly “going to the scene,” Le Parisien added.
PEOPLE has reached out to the Hyatt Hotel, South Africa’s foreign affairs department, and the Paris prosecutor’s office for comment.
Mthethwa’s last public engagement was at the 109th Anniversary of the Battle of Delville Wood in Longueval on Saturday, Sept. 27, according to the Daily Mail.
Mthethwa joined the French Embassy in February 2024. His career began in 1994 as organizing secretary of the ANC Youth League, and he later served in the South African National Assembly on its parliamentary committee from 2002 to 2008, according to Le Parisien.
He became Minister of Safety and Security under the Motlanthe government in 2008, and later served as Minister of Arts and Culture from 2019 to 2023.
