The former Vodacom employee had hoped the ConCourt would bring the legal battle to a close.
Please Call Me inventor Nkosana Makate says he had anticipated a different outcome after the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) ordered that his nearly two-decade legal battle with Vodacom be returned to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) for reconsideration.
On Thursday, the ConCourt sided with Vodacom in its application for leave to appeal against the February 2024 SCA ruling.
That judgment had set aside Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub’s compensation offer of R47 million to Makate, which he rejected in 2019.
Instead, the SCA ruled that Makate was entitled to between 5% and 7.5% — plus interest — of the total revenue Vodacom had generated from the Please Call Me service since its inception in 2001.
Vodacom subsequently brought the matter before the ConCourt for appeal, which was heard in November last year.
Please Call Me inventor Nkosana Makate reacts to ConCourt
The ConCourt ruled on Thursday that the case be sent back to the SCA for reconsideration by a new panel of judges.
Outgoing Acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga explained that the appellate court’s handling of critical issues in the matter amounted to “a total failure of justice”.
Speaking after the court ruling on Thursday, Makate said he expected a different decision.
“We have to abide with the court’s decision, and we are going back to the SCA because they [ConCourt] have said that the SCA must apply themselves properly,” he said.
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When asked if he felt disappointed by the outcome, the former Vodacom employee said he believed the ConCourt would finally resolve the legal battle.
“I mean, we still had a hearing at the [Pretoria] High Court, which they could have gone to as well, and they’ve ignored the SCA completely [but] they are at large to do that.”
Still, Makate expressed confidence that his legal team could convince the SCA to award the R9.4 billion in compensation he is seeking.
“I am still resilient, and I will forever be. We will go to the SCA and the SCA must now look at the case and provide us with a judgment that will stand the test.”
Commenting on the ConCourt’s criticism of the SCA, Makate said: “The court has not decided on anything that the SCA has done except for them not to express themselves, on certain things that were before the SCA. So clearly, they just need to adjust themselves to those.”
He added that the cross-appeal issue would be addressed in response to Vodacom’s claim that the SCA overstepped by replacing the high court’s order without one.
“We’ll also address the issue of the cross appeal, which they want us to do, and we’ll do that. We will do what we have to do,” he said.
Makate vs Vodacom legal battle
This marks the second time the Please Call Me matter has reached the ConCourt.
In 2016, the apex court ruled that Makate was legally entitled to compensation from Vodacom and directed the parties to negotiate a “reasonable” settlement.
However, those negotiations again collapsed, triggering a fresh legal tussle.
The case was eventually referred to Joosub, who determined that R47 million was a fair amount, before Makate challenged the offer in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
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