Faced with a collective legal bill of nearly R13 million for just one day’s arguments in the Constitutional Court, Nkosana Makate and Vodacom are set to face off once again next month in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) over the “Please Call Me” (PCM) invention. After more than two decades of legal wrangling, Makate continues his pursuit of justice, now questioning the Constitutional Court’s decision to award costs against him.
“I do not agree with the awarding of costs in favour of Vodacom. During the same Constitutional Court process, I had to defend two Amicus Curiae applications — one from Vodafone and another from Yebo Yethu, both shareholders of Vodacom. The Constitutional Court dismissed both but did not award me costs,” Makate said.
Makate expressed confusion over the Constitutional Court’s decision to uphold Vodacom’s application for leave to appeal while simultaneously blaming the SCA judges for a mistrial. “Surprisingly, it awards costs against me while referring the matter back to the SCA for a new hearing. This is hugely perplexing and contradictory and will send a chilling message to a small man in litigation against giants like Vodacom.”
The new hearing at the SCA, scheduled for 18 November, comes nearly 25 years after Makate’s invention on 21 November 2000. The Constitutional Court previously ruled that the SCA made several legal errors and exceeded its jurisdiction, sending the case back for review.
In February 2024, the SCA ordered Vodacom to pay Makate between 5% and 7.5% of the revenue generated by PCM over the past 18 years. Vodacom appealed the ruling to the Constitutional Court, maintaining its 2016 offer of R47 million, which it described as generous.
“The R47 million is a very large award for an idea which was brilliant at conception but soon became public property and lost all market value,” Vodacom stated in its latest filings.
Makate rejected this offer, arguing that Vodacom should compensate him as though he had an 18-year contract with them for using his invention. His calculations, based on this period, suggest he is owed between R28 billion and R110 billion.
Vodacom, however, argues that the invention’s commercial value lasted only two months — from November 2000 to January 2001 — before MTN launched a similar service.
Makate dismissed this argument, saying it contradicts Vodacom’s own evidence and expert testimony. He maintains that the CEO’s original decision entitles him to 5% of the total revenue generated by the PCM service, meaning the R47 million figure is only a fraction of what he is owed.
As the SCA prepares to re-evaluate the compensation amount, the long-running dispute between Makate and Vodacom nears yet another critical juncture, with billions potentially at stake and questions about fairness and corporate accountability once again in the spotlight.
