Almost a year after Nathi Mthethwa plunged to his death from a luxury hotel in Paris, France has had the final say calling it a suicide.
The Paris Prosecutor’s Office has closed its probe, dismissing foul play and confirming what the Mthethwa family has maintained since 30 September last year.
Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi announced on Friday, that the Paris Prosecutor’s Office has finalised its probe, nearly a year after Mthethwa, 58, was found dead outside the Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile hotel on 30 September 2025.
According to Kubayi, the French findings reaffirm what the Mthethwa family had told the public in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, and now paves the way for legal closure at home.
“The official finding by the French authorities reaffirms the cause of death previously communicated by the Mthethwa family,” Kubayi said.
She confirmed that the Department of Justice has now received the documentation required by the Master of the High Court, which will allow the administration and final winding up of Mthethwa’s estate to proceed.
The French investigation was always central because Mthethwa died on French soil while serving as a diplomat.
From the outset, the Paris Prosecutor’s Office indicated that there were no signs of a struggle, no traces of drugs or medication in the room, and no evidence of third-party involvement.
Prosecutors said at the time that Mthethwa had booked a room on the 22nd floor about ten days before his death.
His body was found beside the building after a secured window in the room had been forced open. French officials noted that scissors were found at the scene.
His wife Philisiwe Buthelezi had reported him missing the night before after receiving a message in which he apologised and expressed an intention to end his life. Both his official and personal phones were found on him.
French authorities initially opened a routine investigation into the circumstances, as is standard in cases of unnatural death.
That probe has now been formally concluded with a finding of suicide, with no further action to be taken.
In November last year, a French official told local media they were “100% sure that the death was a result of suicide, and there is no foul play whatsoever.”
South Africa had sent a small fact-finding team to Paris in October 2025, led by Western Cape Deputy Provincial Commissioner Major-General Bongani Maqhashalala, to liaise with French authorities after public pressure for transparency.
The death of a serving ambassador, days after Mthethwa’s name was mentioned at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry – where KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi accused him of political interference in 2011 to protect former Crime Intelligence head Richard Mdluli – sparked intense speculation online.
Kubayi on Friday moved to shut down the rumours.
“Members of the public and the media must refrain from circulating unfounded information,” she said.
“We must respect the dignity of the late Ambassador Mthethwa, as well as the Mthethwa family’s right to closure and privacy.”
She said the matter must now be regarded as closed.
Mthethwa’s political career spanned decades – from shop steward in the Food and Allied Workers Union, to ANC Youth League activist, to National Executive Committee member, to Minister of Safety and Security and later Police Minister from 2008 to 2014, and then Minister of Arts and Culture and Sports, Arts and Culture until 2023.
The ANC had not yet responded following the French closure.
