South African Ambassador found dead outside Paris hotel

South Africa's Ambassador to France, formerly a long-serving Cabinet Minister, was found dead on Tuesday (September 30, 2025) outside a Paris hotel after the window of his room in the high-rise building was forced open, prosecutors said.

Nkosinathi Emmanuel Nathi Mthethwa, 58, usually known as Nathi Mthethwa, had "reserved a room on the 22nd floor whose secured window had been forced open", the office of the Paris prosecutor told AFP.

The body of Mthethwa, a close associate of former South African President Jacob Zuma, was found "directly by the hotel", it added.