DIRCO assures Ambassador Mthethwa's family that process to repatriate his body underway

Nhlanhla Mabaso
3 October 2025 | 5:00The South African ambassador to France and Monaco died in Paris earlier this week.
FILE: Nathi Mthethwa during the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final match between New Zealand and South Africa on 28 October 2023 at Stade de France in Saint-Denis near Paris, France. Picture: Matthieu Mirville / Matthieu Mirville / DPPI via AFP
KWAMBONAMBI - The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has promised Nathi Mthethwa’s family that the process of bringing the late ambassador's body home is underway.
The South African ambassador to France and Monaco died in Paris earlier this week.
His death is subject to investigation, with an autopsy report set to be completed by the end of this week.
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After having formally communicated the news of Ambassador Nathi Mthethwa’s passing, the department said the family would have their son’s body to bury.
The department’s deputy minister, Alvin Botes: "We, with the family, have agreed on two important issues: bring Ambassador Nathi Mthethwa home to give him a dignified honourable tribute to his life and thereafter dissect the outcomes of the final investigation report."
Botes also thanked the Mthethwa family for their son’s dedication and commitment, saying that his titles abroad spoke volumes about him.
"That demonstrated the level of trust that President Ramaphosa has actually deposited into the person of Nathi Mthethwa."
Mourners are set to visit the Mthethwa home to comfort the grieving family.
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