MTHETHWA WANTED TO END HIS LIFE- FRENCH PROSECUTOR

PARIS: Media reports doing the rounds in Europe indicate that former South Africa’s ambassador to France Nathi Mthethwa wanted to end his life.

Per the SABC, Reuters has it that Mthethwa left a note to his wife after he was found dead at the foot of the Hyatt Regency hotel in Paris.

The former Police Minister’s lifeless body was discovered on Monday and the office of the South African presidency has since confirmed the sad news.

Reuters quoted the Paris prosecutor’s office as saying Mthethwa’s wife had reported him missing on Monday evening, after receiving a message in which “he apologised and expressed his intention to end his life”.

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Some publications report that Mthethwa had booked a room on the 22nd floor of the hotel and the French prosecutor says that in the late ambassador’s room, the window’s safety mechanism had been forced open with scissors, which were left at the scene.

Investigators reportedly found no signs of a struggle or traces of medication or narcotics and International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola says government will wait for French authorities to complete their investigation into the death of Mthethwa before initiating the repatriation process.

Moreover, Lamola says the French authorities have been cooperative in this matter.

“Once there is an amount of clarity from the French police, the family and the mission will work on the process to repatriate his body back to South Africa, and the family will obviously decide on the processes in relation to his funeral,” he said.

“They will obviously be in consultation with the government, which then announcements will be made at the right time once all the consultations and the decisions have been made by the family in consultation with government.”

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Meanwhile, UDM leader Bantu Holomisa has sent his condolences to the Mthethwa family and his friends following the death of South Africa’s Ambassador to the French nation.

Holomisa has also praised Mthethwa’s dedication to diplomacy and service to the nation and recalled Mthethwa’s vital support during a UDM delegation visit to France earlier this year.

The UDM leader says Mthethwa’s legacy as a patriot and diplomat will be long remembered.

By Phumzile Ngcatshe