Going out in a blaze of glory

Thabo Mbeki was forced to do it. Khaya Ngqula said he did it. Carl Niehaus did it several times. Julius Malema tried to do it, but could not, and Gerald Majola refused to do it.

Resigning can be an emotionally charged event.

Greg Smith's public resignation from Goldman Sachs has hit the world's media headlines, and coming so soon after the Occupy movements, it would not be hard for him to find sympathisers in bringing the issue of bad business ethics to light.

But the manner of his resignation has sparked a myriad of spoof resignations on the internet, lampooning the self-aggrandising and melodramatic stance taken by Smith. But he is not the first to throw his toys in public.

Investec CEO Stephen Koseff was in Goldman Sachs's shoes in 2007 when an intern penned a scathing letter on the organisation.

Bonga Bangani caused a stir when he accused Investec's management of discrimination. In his letter, Bangani said he chose unemployment to working for Investec.

The letter even got the attention of SA's former president, Thabo Mbeki.

Koseff said: "It is possible to have a single person out of 7000 write a [negative] letter and the world thinks there is something wrong with your company."

"It is not right," he said.

Eskom's former chief executive, Jacob Maroga, famously refused to leave, then later did, and filed an R85-million lawsuit for unlawful dismissal.