By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has granted the late South Africa’s Ambassador to France, Nathi Mthethwa with a special official funeral Category 2.
Mthethwa, who was 58, was found dead outside the Hyatt Regency hotel in Paris on Tuesday, 30 September.
His remains will arrive in South Africa on Friday, 10 October 2025.
The KwaZulu-Natal government has established a dedicated task team to coordinate funeral arrangements.
This follows Ramaphosa’s decision to grant Mthethwa a Special Official Funeral Category 2, a significant national honour reserved for distinguished South Africans.
On Wednesday, the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Executive Council cut its cabinet meeting short to visit the Mthethwa family home in Kwa-Mbonambi. The visit formed part of the province’s efforts to support the family and oversee preparations for the official proceedings.
KZN premier Thamisanqa Ntuli praised the late ambassador for his lifelong dedication to public service, describing him as a man of humility and commitment.
“Except that he was an activist in his political party, the ANC, but he served government for a very long time in different portfolios as we know that in police he was there, in sports he was there, and in various portfolios. He served our country diligently with humility,” Ntuli said.
Ntuli, the funeral arrangements are being coordinated by a multi-governmental team that includes officials from the national, provincial, and local levels.
The task team is expected to ensure that all logistical and ceremonial aspects of the funeral align with official protocols and honour the legacy of the late ambassador.
Meanwhile Mthethwa’s family said the ambassador and his wife, Philisiwe Buthelezi paid for every single brick of the perimeter wall at his home as they denied claims made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi that Crime Intelligence slush funds had been used.
Mkhwanazi during his testimony on Tuesday, before Parliament’s ad hoc committee said that Crime Intelligence had secretly built a R600,000 wall at Mthethwa’s home in KwaMbonambi in KwaZulu-Natal.
He added that he believes the wall was built without Mthethwa’s knowledge or request.
However, Mthethwa’s relative Khulekani Mthethwa denied the claims, saying the family had no knowledge of what Mkhwanazi had said in parliament.
“We do not know anything about Mkhwanazi’s claims. What we know, as a family, is that the house including the perimeter wall was built by Mthethwa (Nathi) and his wife so we do not even want to hear anything about this house,” said Khulekani.
Mthethwa began serving as South Africa’s envoy to France in December 2023 – his latest role in a series of high-profile portfolios that included stints as police minister, as well as the minister of sports, arts and culture.
As a young man, he campaigned against apartheid, a racist policy that kept Blacks and Whites apart, and grew through the ranks of the African National Congress (ANC) party, which fought for democratic rule in South Africa.