Mthethwa found dead amid police interference allegations

French authorities are investigating the circumstances around the ambassador's death in Paris

- WILLEM PHUNGULA AND THAMI MAGUBANE

SOUTH Africas Ambassador to France, Nathi Mthethwa, was expected to be called by the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry which is currently hearing testimony about the interference of senior government officials and politicians into police work.

Mthethwa, a former Police and Sports, Arts and Culture Minister was found dead at the Hyatt Hotel in Porte Maillot in Paris yesterday after he went missing - he is believed to have died in tragic circumstances after falling from the 22nd floor of the hotel.

Although the commission had not yet confirmed whether he was on the list of those expected to give testimony, he was expected to be given a right of reply after he was mentioned in testimony by KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

Mkhwanazi told the commission that during his tenure as an acting police commissioner in 2011, Mthethwa in his capacity as Police Minister attempted to block the prosecution of the then police Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant-General Richard Mdluli.

Madluli was accused of abuse of state resources and corruption involving the Crime Intelligence Unit's slush funds. According to Mkhwanazi, Mthethwa also ordered him to stop taking disciplinary action against Mdluli - Mkhwanazi described this as interference in the work of the police.