Nkosinathi Mthethwa, the South African ambassador to France, was discovered dead in Paris

Nkosinathi Mthethwa, South Africa’s ambassador to France, passed away in Paris following what appeared to be a fall from a hotel.

Nkosinathi Mthethwa, the ambassador of South Africa to France, was discovered dead in Paris in what French officials say was a suspected suicide.

The 58-year-old ambassador is thought to have leaped from the 22nd floor of the Hyatt Hotel in the French capital, according to the French daily Le Parisien. Mthethwa’s wife notified authorities after receiving a “worrying message” from him on Monday night, according to confirmation from the Paris prosecutor’s office.

Prior to his body being found, his phone was last seen at approximately 3 p.m. in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, close to the Bois de Boulogne.

In addition to being South Africa’s permanent representative to UNESCO, Mthethwa had been the country’s ambassador to France since February. His lengthy political career in South Africa, where he served in a number of cabinet positions as Minister of Safety and Security, Minister of Police, and Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture, came before his diplomatic appointment. From 2004 to 2008, he also served as the chair of the parliamentary committee on energy and minerals.

The circumstances surrounding his death are being investigated by the Paris judicial police’s Brigade for the Repression of Personal Crime (BRDP).

The loss of Mthethwa is devastating for the political and diplomatic community of South Africa.