Mthethwa looting claims reappear

KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has testified that the wall at Nathi Mthethwa's home was built with looted money

- Lunga Mzangwe

As Nathi Mthethwa's body was due to arrive in the country on Friday for a state funeral on Sunday, questions swirled around his involvement in the looting of crime intelligence slush funds during his tenure as police minister, while details around his demise remained sketchy.

South Africa's ambassador to France is expected to be buried about two weeks after he allegedly jumped to his death from a hotel in Paris, and as investigators still try to piece together the circumstances around the incident. He is said to have jumped from the 22nd-floor hotel room he had booked days earlier, and a day after his wife, Philisiwe Buthelezi, reported him missing.

On Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Mthethwa would be given a special official funeral category two at his homestead in KwaMbonambi, KwaZulu-Natal.

Mthethwa's body arrives in South Africa against the backdrop of fresh allegations by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi this week that he was a beneficiary of funds looted from the crime intelligence slush fund by crooked police top brass during his time as minister.