Was Nene fired for saying no to Al-Bashir?

Johannesburg - Axed Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said no to SAA chair Dudu Myeni ánd Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the Mail & Guardian reported on Friday.

It was basically also a no to President Jacob Zuma who had asked, according to Myeni, that South African Airways open a new route to Khartoum in Sudan to show support to "his brother" Al-Bashir.

Nene told Myeni in no uncertain terms that a route to Khartoum would be unprofitable and he would not allow it.

Four months later, in December last year, Nene was fired.

The Mail & Guardian obtained correspondence between Nene and Miyeni about the "proposed operations in Khartoum". Read the full report here. 

Al-Bashir visited South Africa in June last year to attend an African Union summit. The government allowed him to leave, despite a court order instructing the South African government to detain him. The International Criminal Court wanted him to stand trial on charges including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

This article first appeared on News24 – see here.