Overview

• The 58-year-old diplomat was discovered in the inner courtyard of the Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile below a 22nd-floor room whose window safety mechanism had been forced open, with scissors found at the scene.
• His wife reported him missing after receiving a message in which he apologized and said he intended to end his life, and police traced his phone near the Bois de Boulogne before his body was found.
• The Paris judicial police’s BRDP unit is leading the investigation under a duty magistrate, and investigators reported no signs of a struggle or traces of medication or narcotics.
• South Africa’s government and President Cyril Ramaphosa offered condolences and said they will await the French investigation before proceeding with repatriation arrangements.
• Mthethwa was a veteran ANC figure and former minister for police and for sports, arts and culture who was appointed ambassador in late 2023 and joined the Paris mission in February 2024.