Judgement Day for Makate and Vodacom in “Please Call Me” Battle

The Constitutional Court is expected to hand down a landmark judgement today in the long-running and high-profile legal battle between Nkosana Makate, the acknowledged inventor of the Please Call Me service, and South African telecommunications giant Vodacom.

Makate has been fighting for fair compensation since 2007, claiming that Vodacom unlawfully profited from the Please Call Me service, a revolutionary mobile feature that allows users without airtime to send a free request for someone to call them back.

In a case that has captured world attention, Makate argues that Vodacom owes him billions of rand for the idea he conceived in 2000, when he was a junior employee at the company. While Vodacom has acknowledged him as the originator of the service, the dispute has centred around the amount he is owed.

In 2016, the Constitutional Court ruled that Vodacom was bound by a verbal agreement to compensate Makate, ordering the company to enter negotiations. However, after years of back-and-forth and a R47 million offer from Vodacom, which Makate rejected as inadequate, the battle returned to court.

Today’s ruling is expected to address critical questions around the fairness of the compensation process, Vodacom’s compliance with the previous order, and the extent to which intellectual property is valued in South African labour and corporate law.

Legal analysts say the judgement could set a powerful precedent for employee-inventors and reshape how major corporations handle internal innovation and compensation.

Makate’s legal team is hoping the apex court will compel Vodacom to pay a significantly higher amount, potentially running into the billions. Vodacom, on the other hand, has warned of potential financial risks should the ruling go against it.

As the nation watches closely, today’s decision is set to define the future of innovation rights in South Africa and mark a turning point in one man’s 17-year struggle for justice.