ConCourt slams SCA over ‘unending’ Please Call Me saga
Nkosana Makate’s fight with Vodacom over the Please Call Me invention has hit yet another roadblock, despite hopes that justice would finally be served.
On Thursday, 31 July, the Constitutional Court delivered a unanimous judgment that overturned a previous ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) and sent the matter back for reconsideration by a new panel of judges.
Acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, in a strongly worded ruling, described the legal dispute as “unending litigation” and criticised the SCA for numerous missteps, including failing to provide adequate reasoning in its February 2024 decision, which would have entitled Makate to billions.
Madlanga said the earlier ruling ignored crucial facts and therefore could not stand.
Had it held, Vodacom would have been ordered to pay Makate between 5% and 7.5% of the revenue generated by the Please Call Me service since 2001, a payout that would have amounted to at least R9 billion. Vodacom, in its court submissions, warned that such a financial blow would be devastating to the company, its workers, and investors.
Makate, who arrived at court hopeful, admitted after the judgment that the outcome was not what he had anticipated.
“We expected a different decision but we have to abide by the court’s decision. We will go to the SCA and it must just relook at the case and provide us with a judgment that will then stand the test,” he said.
Despite years of legal delays, Makate has vowed not to give up. “I am still resilient, I will forever be,” he told journalists. “We will do what we have to do.”
This marks the second time the Constitutional Court has been involved in the case.
In 2016, it ruled that Makate was indeed the originator of the idea and ordered Vodacom to engage in good-faith negotiations.
But those talks soured quickly, with Makate accusing the telecoms giant of hiding financial details about the success of the Please Call Me service.
In 2020, the High Court ruled that Vodacom had to disclose the revenue figures, a move that strengthened Makate’s claim.
Even after nearly 20 years, the fight over fair compensation for the service continues.
