Constitutional Court Upholds Vodacom’s Appeal Against SCA Ruling on Please-Call-Me Saga

• Please-Call-Me founder Nkosana Makate's battle with Vodacom continues as the Constitutional Court made its latest ruling
• The court upheld Vodacom's appeal against the Supreme Court of Appeal's ruling that Makate should receive a payout of over R40 billion
• South Africans accused the judges of being captured and alleged that some have interests in Vodacom

With 10 years’ experience, Tebogo Mokwena, a current affairs writer for Briefly News, provided insights into the criminal justice system, crime statistics, and high-profile cases in South Africa at Daily Sun.

JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG — The Constitutional Court ruled in favour of Vodacom, appealing the Supreme Court of Appeal's ruling to compensate Please-Call-Me founder Nkosana Makate with over R40 billion in revenue generated from 2001 to 2021.

According to TimesLIVE, outgoing acting deputy chief justice Mbiyisweli Madlanga read the unanimous ruling the court made on 31 July 2025. The court said it was not happy with aspects of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruling. The SCA ruled that the R47 million Vodacom offer to Makate six years ago was insufficient after Makate rejected it. The matter has been referred back to the SCA.

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A look at the Vodacom Please-Call-Me saga

Makate was expecting to receive a substantial payout after he rejected the R47 million payment Vodacom offered him. On 8 February 2022, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that Makate was entitled to between 5% and 7.5% of the total revenue the telecoms giant generated from the Please-Call-Me invention from March 2001 to March 2021.

Vodacom appeared before the SCA on 9 May 2023 and argued that its CEO reserved the right to determine how much Makate deserved for inventing the Please-Call-Me. Vodacom believed that the Pretoria High Court's judgment, which ordered the company to make another offer, was wrong.

Vodacom also lost a court case when it appeared before the Pretoria High Court on 17 September 2023. The court ruled that Vodacom's request to change the ruling was aimed at obstructing the court's order and had no merit.

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What did South Africans say?

Netizens commenting on X were displeased.

Bongwe ka Maphosa said:

"The fact that it's a black man fighting against a system foretold the outcome of the judgment. I always say apartheid was never abolished."

Rutendo Matinyarare said:

"The judges in our courts are shareholders of Vodacom. They have conflict of interest."

Academia said:

"This is not fair at all. Nkosinathi deserves what he is requesting."

Mr Jones said:

"I hope brown envelopes did not exchange hands here."

Mr Kalo said:

"Vodacom is stubborn to the core."

Vodacom was willing to settle out of court with Makate

In a related article, Briefly News reported that in 2024, Vodacom was allegedly planning on settling out of court with Makate. This was after Makate rejected the final offer of R47 million.

The court ruled that Makate was entitled to between R29 billion and R63 billion. However, Vodacom reportedly wanted to reach an agreement with him outside of court.

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Source: Briefly News