The death of Nathi Mthethwa

South Africa’s ambassador to France, Nkosinathi Emmanuel Mthethwa (pictured above at his last public appearance at the Delville Wood Memorial), was found dead at the base of the Hyatt Regency hotel in Paris, having apparently fallen from the 22nd floor. The incident, classified as a suicide by French authorities, has sparked grief and derision alike, wild speculations, and a renewed scrutiny of his controversial political career.

Few aside from his family and colleagues have showed any deep sign of mourning, but the timing and dramatic nature of his end will cast a long shadow over what is proving to be a fragile moment in our nation’s recent history.

The suicide

Mthethwa, 58, was reported missing by his wife, Philisiwe Buthelezi, on September 29, after sending her a distressing message. His phone last pinged near Bois de Boulogne, a sprawling park in western Paris, prompting an immediate search by French police using canine units. The effort proved fruitless until the following day, when his body was discovered at Porte Maillot, beneath the hotel where he had booked a room. A suicide note addressed to his wife was found, alongside a window forced open with scissors – evidence that, combined with the absence of foul play or narcotics, led investigators to conclude he took his own life.

The Paris prosecutor’s office, led by the Brigade for the Suppression of Crimes Against Persons, continues to probe, with an autopsy pending. South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) confirmed the death, expressing condolences while awaiting further details. The timing is striking. Mthethwa had attended a commemorative event for the Battle of Delville Wood just days earlier, appearing composed in his diplomatic role. Yet, his death coincided with escalating scrutiny back home, where the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into criminality within South Africa’s justice system was revisiting his tenure as a minister. Public reaction, particularly on X, has oscillated between mourning and suspicion, with paranoid theories inevitably questioning the suicide narrative as “too neat” given his embroilment in high-stakes allegations.

A bridge between two corrupt administrations

Mthethwa’s political career began in KwaZulu-Natal, where he rose through the ANC ranks to become a National Executive Committee member from 2007 to 2022. His ministerial roles in Safety and Security (2008–2009), Police (2009–2014), Arts and Culture (2014–2019), and Sport, Arts and Culture (2019–2023) placed him at the heart of government across both the Zuma and Ramaphosa administrations. Appointed ambassador to France in 2024, he was seen as a seasoned operative of the ANC’s old guard, loyal to both Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa.

Like all ANC members in good standing, his legacy is inseparable from accusations of corruption, abuse of power, and general mismanagement. The most damning allegations resurfaced in 2025 through the ongoing Madlanga Commission, investigating hit squads and organised crime linked to former Police Minister Senzo Mchunu. He was expected to respond before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee days before his death, undoubtedly a contributing factor to his state of mind when he ended his life.

On September 19, KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lt-Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi testified that, in 2011, Mthethwa, then Police Minister, pressured then-Inspector General of Intelligence Faith Radebe to halt prosecution of Richard Mdluli, the former Crime Intelligence head. Mdluli faced charges for misusing a secret “slush fund” exceeding R80 million, including for personal luxuries like private flights. Mkhwanazi described a meeting at Mthethwa’s Pretoria home where he and Radebe were instructed to drop the case, an intervention he called the “worst political interference” of his career. This testimony, part of broader probes into “state capture” under Zuma, implicated Mthethwa alongside other ministers.

Mthethwa’s tenure as Police Minister drew criticism over the 2012 Marikana Massacre, where 34 striking miners were killed by police in a crackdown authorized under his watch. The incident, the largest act of police violence since the end of apartheid, cemented his reputation for overseeing an undisciplined and vindictive police force. Earlier, the Zondo Commission heard claims that Crime Intelligence funds were misused to build a R200,000 wall at Mthethwa’s KwaZulu-Natal home and to purchase a Mercedes-Benz for him, allegations he denied. More recently, as Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Mthethwa faced accusations of nepotism and financial irregularity. In 2023, he was implicated in the irregular appointment of Mpumelelo Mabuza as CEO of the Downtown Music Hub, despite objections over Mabuza’s qualifications.

A News24 investigation last year revealed unlawful appointments at the National Arts Council, with Mthethwa allegedly bypassing regulations to favor allies, leading to irregular expenditure.

The long shadow

Mthethwa’s death has elicited the usual responses. President Ramaphosa praised his “diverse capacities” of service, while Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola called him a “distinguished servant.” Julius Malema has demanded accountability for his role in past scandals. On X, speculation runs rampant, with posts suggesting his death was orchestrated to silence him before Madlanga testimony.

The diplomat’s fall in Paris has become symbolic of the systemic flaws he both shaped and symbolized. But it is hard not to sympathise with the man. Suicide is an evil path to tread, and a painful one, to the one who treads it as much as for those he leaves behind.

The same can be said of power, whose corridors grow narrower as one rises, the demands for fealty and complicity pressing in deeper with each step, the fall growing more lethal with the climb.

Throughout the years, the ANC has been guilty of terrorism, torture, mass murder, political death squads, and the rampant destruction of the jewel of the African continent through neglect, cynicism and thievery. But until now, no member of this grand old movement has shown so much as a single twinge of guilt.

For the first time, we may have seen a man in the ANC who bears a conscience. May God have mercy on him.