Memorial for Ambassador Nathi Mthethwa after Paris death
Pretoria memorial service announced for late Ambassador Nathi Mthethwa.
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The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has confirmed that a memorial service for the late Ambassador Emmanuel Nkosinathi 'Nathi' Mthethwa will take place this Friday, October 10.
It is set to start at 10am at the Dirco Conference Centre in Pretoria.
President Cyril Ramaphosa reportedly accorded an official funeral for the former South African Ambassador to France.
The official funeral will be held on Sunday, October 12, in KwaMbonambi, KwaZulu-Natal.
Mthethwa, 58, died after falling from a 22nd-floor hotel room in Paris last week. French officials are examining the circumstances of his death.
The police recently announced that they deployed one officer instead of the five initially planned to receive reports from their French counterparts on the politician.
"With regard to sending a delegation to France, we are working on a police-to-police cooperation. We do have a senior officer that is working in that country," he said.
The investigator was expected to depart the country on Tuesday.
"They will update the mission in terms of the activities and whereabouts once he is there," he said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed deep sorrow over Mthethwa's death. He sent condolences to Mthethwa's wife, Philisiwe Buthelezi, and the ambassador's extended family.
"Ambassador Mthethwa has served our nation in diverse capacities during a lifetime that has ended prematurely and traumatically," Ramaphosa said. "In his last tenure of service, he facilitated the deepening of relations between South Africa and the Republic of France, which has produced benefits for individuals and businesses in both countries and advanced our cooperation in the global arena."
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