Hope for justice: Nathi Mthethwa's family welcomes police deployment to France

The family of the late ambassador to France, Nathi Mthethwa, says the involvement of five South African police investigators in the probe into his death brings them hope that no stone will be left unturned in finding out what happened to their loved one.

The five officers departed for France on Saturday amid the probe into the former minister’s death conducted by the French police.

The Mthethwa family rejected the French authority’s official report that Mthethwa committed suicide by jumping to his death from the 22nd floor of a hotel in Paris on September 30, 2025.

His motionless body was discovered on the pavement outside the 137-meter-tall Hyatt Regency Hotel, where he had reportedly checked in. 

A police media statement released on Friday evening stated that the team of South African police investigators is led by Western Cape Deputy Provincial Commissioner for Crime Detection Major General Bongani Maqhashalala. 

Mthethwa’s brother, Khulekani Mthethwa, said the family hoped that the South African officers would be able to dig deeper and come up with answers as to how his sibling, who was also the former Sports, Arts, and Culture minister, met his death.

“We are happy with the deployment because we have unanswered questions, so if there is a team of investigators deployed to France, it is what the family needs, as this might give us complete information,” said Khulekani. 

He said it was not that the family didn't trust that the French police would do due diligence.

“If you have lost a family member, finding the truth is not about trusting or not trusting a person, but we want to get the truth as to what happened.” 

He said the South African police's involvement would enable the family members, who are at the Mthethwas’ KwaMbonambi rural village outside Empangeni, in KwaZulu-Natal north coast, to get an update on the progress of the investigation.

According to him, they were currently relying on the family members, including Mthethwa’s wife, Philisiwe Buthelezi, who are still in Paris, for information.

He added that the government would brief the family on the funeral arrangements.

“The government came to discuss with us, and we are still waiting for it to brief us about the arrangements,” said Khulekani. 

National police spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe could not say what exactly the deployed officers would investigate or when they would return to the country. 

“The team is leaving (Saturday) - we don’t know anything as yet. They are yet to be briefed by French authorities,” she said.

If Mthethwa committed suicide, he would not be the first ambassador from the African continent to France to take his life in Paris. The Central African Republic ambassador Nestor Kombot-Naguemon did the same 21 years ago. 

According to media reports, Kombot-Naguemon, who was 60 years old, plunged to his death from the sixth floor of his official home in the city in October 2004. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa deployed Mthethwa to France in 2024. 

Cape Times