US EditionSettlement Reached: Vodacom and Nkosana Makate End Please Call Me Saga Out of Court
The settlement ends nearly 20 years of litigation over compensation for the Please Call Me service, with Vodacom accounting for the financial impact in its 2025 interim results.
- On Wednesday, Vodacom and Nkosana Makate reached an out‑of‑court settlement after Vodacom told shareholders its board approved the agreement.
- Nkosana Makate first proposed the Please Call Me service in 2001 and shared it with his supervisor who allegedly promised compensation, leading him to launch legal action in 2008.
- Makate rejected a R47 million offer in 2019, insisting on a much larger sum as the parties sharply disagreed on what constituted `fair` compensation, with Makate seeking around R9.7 billion and the SCA ordering 5% and 7.50% over 18 years.
- Both sides agreed to settle privately and Vodacom will reflect the impact in interim results for the six months ending 30 September 2025 after withdrawing its appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
- The scheduled Supreme Court of Appeal rehearing will now not take place, bringing closure to nearly two decades of litigation, and Nkosana Makate is expected to comment once the settlement is finalised.
20 Articles
20 Articles
South Africa: Vodacom Pays Up to End 'Please Call Me' War
Vodacom confirmed its board approved a private settlement with Nkosana Makate on 4 November, ending their long-running "Please Call Me" court battle. The mobile company withdrew its appeals and dropped a High Court judgment, but has not revealed how much it will pay Makate.
Vodacom settles with Please Call Me inventor Kenneth Makate
After more than two decades of legal battles, Vodacom has settled its long-running dispute with Please Call Me inventor Kenneth Makate, bringing one of South Africa’s most protracted corporate legal sagas to an end. In a statement issued to shareholders late on Wednesday, Vodacom confirmed that its board had approved an out-of-court settlement agreement with Makate. The company did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, saying only that t…
Vodacom Settles 17-Year ‘Please Call Me’ Dispute with Former Employee Out of Court
South African telecommunications giant Vodacom has reached an out-of-court settlement with former employee Nkosana Makate, ending a 17-year legal battle over the creation of the company’s widely used “Please Call Me” messaging service — one of the most closely followed corporate disputes in South Africa’s modern history. In a statement filed to the Johannesburg Stock […] The post Vodacom Settles 17-Year ‘Please Call Me’ Dispute with Former Emplo…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 40% of the sources lean Left, 40% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
