Mango CEO resigns

Low-cost carrier Mango CEO Nico Bezuidenhout's rushed resignation came as controversial SAA chairman Dudu Myeni announced a decision to institute a third forensic investigation into the beleaguered executive.

Mango announced Bezuidenhout's resignation in a joint statement from him and the airline's chairman, Rashid Wally, yesterday.

The Times understands Myeni informed Wally at a meeting attended by several SA Airways executives that she intended to investigate Bezuidenhout for a number of whistle-blower allegations including one that he, at the time he was acting CEO at SAA, used the company's resources and information to profit Mango at the expense of SAA.

The 40-year-old executive was cleared by two forensic investigations, one by Ernst & Young and another by ENS, into the allegations.

Bezuidenhout has already accepted a job at British-based African low-cost carrier FastJet. His last day is July 31.

"The chairman [Wally] felt that some of the allegations against Nico were well-known, and it was peculiar that these two investigations did not make positive findings," a senior SAA source close to the board said.

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"So in yesterday's meeting she was insistent that Rashid investigate these allegations."

Myeni last night rejected, as "unfounded" any insinuation that the board of SAA was behind Bezuidenhout's departure.

"Based on media reports we understand that he resigned out of his [own] volition.

"SAA as the shareholder has not received any formal correspondence to this effect and we know no more than what we saw in the media announcing his resignation," Myeni said.

The relationship between Myeni and Bezuidenhout soured late last year after he accused Myeni of invoking the name of President Jacob Zuma, a family friend of hers, when she ordered him to pull out of an expanded code-share deal with Emirates Airlines.

The deal, which would have seen SAA increase its revenue by more than R2-billion, was pulled at the last minute after Myeni called Bezuidenhout hours before the deal was inked.

Bezuidenhout could not be reached for comment yesterday, but a sympathiser confirmed the meeting between Myeni and Wally.

"A suspension at this time would have affected his new position at FastJet," he said.

Wally praised Bezuidenhout yesterday, saying he had grown the airline from a four-aircraft operation to " the most recognisable domestic low-cost airline brand in the country with a fleet of 10 aircraft."