Overview

• Emmanuel Mthethwa, 58, was discovered at the foot of the Hyatt Regency near Porte Maillot in Paris’s 17th arrondissement, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.
• A criminal inquiry is underway with the Paris judicial police’s BRDP leading the case as investigators work to determine the circumstances of the death.
• Preliminary elements indicate he had reserved a 22nd‑floor room at the hotel and that the safety window in the room had been forced.
• His wife reported him missing the previous evening after receiving a worrying message, and police searches followed when his phone last connected near the Bois de Boulogne around 3 p.m. Monday.
• Mthethwa is a senior ANC figure appointed ambassador to France in February 2024 and serves as South Africa’s permanent delegate to UNESCO.