Vodacom reportedly paid Nkosana Makate about R550 million, though it remains unclear how much he retained after 17 years of legal fees.
Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate has launched a fresh fight, seeking to privately prosecute British investor. Picture: Makate’s X page
“Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate has launched a fresh fight, seeking to privately prosecute British investor Errol Elsdon, who claims 40% of his multimillion‑rand Vodacom settlement.
Vodacom announced last year that the matter had been settled after nearly two decades of litigation, including a landmark Constitutional Court ruling.
The operator reportedly paid Makate about R550 million, though it remains unclear how much he retained after 17 years of legal fees.
Money claim
Elsdon’s company, Black Rock Mining, has approached the Johannesburg High Court, insisting Makate entered into a binding contract 15 years ago. Makate rejects the claim as fraudulent, alleging his signature was forged.
“I am not worried about this; it is just that institutions like the NPA have been dragging their feet in prosecuting this fraud, hence the abuse of the civil court process by Errol Elsdon,” he told the Sunday Times.
Legal battle
Makate argues Black Rock never funded his legal battle against Vodacom
“Both companies never funded my case; hence, this is a fraud,” he said, adding that expert analysis confirmed the signatures were not his.
He is now seeking a nolle prosequi certificate from the NPA to pave the way for a private prosecution. “This is clear fraud … I have shouldered the risk for my matter alone all these years.”
‘No wrongdoing’
Elsdon’s lawyers, SN Mnguni Attorneys, denied wrongdoing
“Our client denies any suggestion of criminal conduct, including any allegation of forgery, fraud or dishonesty, in the strongest possible terms.” They said they had not been informed of Makate’s private prosecution bid.
‘Extortion’
Makate maintains Elsdon is attempting to “fleece and extort” him through shelf companies, calling Black Rock “a perpetuation of the Raining Men fraud that failed.”
He wants the Pretoria High Court to dismiss Elsdon’s claim to 40% of his payout, arguing that the company breached its contract from the outset by failing to fund his litigation.
Debate
The debate over Makate’s role as inventor also persists. While he is widely credited, MTN consultant Ari Kahn is documented as having conceived a USSD‑based “Call Me” service in November 2000 and filed a patent application in January 2001.
Tech commentator Toby Shapshak has argued: “If you invent something, you go to patent lawyers… History shows that the person who invented Please Call Me is Ari Kahn.”
Makate, however, continues to defend his claim as the rightful inventor, even as he battles what he calls fraudulent attempts to strip him of the settlement he fought for over nearly two decades.
