President Cyril Ramaphosa lauded the activism of South Africa’s late ambassador to France, Nathi Mthethwa, saying he “refused to accept the injustice of apartheid”.
“The man we are laying to rest today was an unapologetic activist,” said Ramaphosa.
Mthethwa was found dead on 30 September, after falling from the 22nd floor of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Paris.
The South African Police Service (Saps) said it will provide full support to French authorities as they investigate the death.
Before serving as an ambassador, Mthethwa was the Minister of Police from 2008 to 2014 and the Minister of Sport, Arts, and Culture from 2019 to 2023.
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Ramaphosa hails Mthethwa’s ‘life of activism’
Speaking at the state funeral service at Mthethwa’s home in KwaMbonambi, KwaZulu-Natal, the president said he sacrificed personal comfort to fight for equality and freedom.
“It was about refusing to accept the world as it is, and working – every day – to build the world as it should be.
“A life of activism is not easy. It’s often uncomfortable, even dangerous. But it is deeply human.”
The president said Mthethwa activism began when he worked at a beverage factory.
“The price would be dismissal from his job at Just Juice, where he was a shop steward, a loss of income. Perhaps it was exile. Perhaps arrest. Perhaps the heartbreak of seeing comrades fall, families torn apart, hopes threatened.”
Ramaphosa said Mthethwa came of age just before the end of apartheid.
“It was a generation of young lions that saw the end of apartheid and ushered in a new era of freedom and justice.”
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Lessons to learn from Mthethwa’s life
Ramaphosa said people in government and South Africa’s young people could learn from Mthethwa.
“I would suggest that he taught us what courage and commitment is. From being a shop steward, to his student days in Klaarwater, to being detained, to holding high office, he never lost sight of what drew him into the struggle: the belief that injustice must be opposed; that people deserve dignity, rights, opportunities.”
He described Mthethwa as a “disciplined, loyal cadre” of the ANC.
“Mthethwa remained loyal to ANC principles, even amid difficult terrains. His life invites reflection on how to renew the ANC’s moral centre – not through rhetoric, but through conduct.”
Controversies
Despite Ramaphosa’s words, Mthethwa is best known for wanting to build a giant flag as a monument that would have cost R22 million.
His name was also mentioned in the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry recently. KZN police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi accused Mthethwa of trying to influence investigations while he was police minister to protect certain people.
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