The long-running legal battle between Vodacom and Kenneth Makate, the man behind the “Please Call Me” concept, is set to continue after the Constitutional Court referred the matter back to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) for reconsideration.
In a significant development, the Constitutional Court has set aside the SCA’s previous ruling, which had awarded Makate a potentially multi-billion-rand compensation. Acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga stated that the SCA had committed several legal missteps, including failing to ensure a fair trial. As a result, the apex court has ordered that the case be reheard by a newly constituted panel of judges at the SCA.
The dispute dates back to 2001, when Makate, then a Vodacom employee, proposed the idea of a free “missed call” service that would allow users without airtime to request a call back. He claims he shared the idea with a superior at Vodacom and was promised compensation if the idea proved successful.
When no payment materialized, Makate initiated legal proceedings in 2008, seeking fair compensation for his contribution. The case eventually reached the Constitutional Court, which ruled in his favor in 2016, ordering Vodacom to negotiate reasonable compensation.
Following the ruling, Vodacom initially offered Makate R10 million, later increasing the offer to R47 million. Makate rejected both offers, arguing that the true value of his idea was closer to R9.7 billion.
In a subsequent High Court ruling, the court sided with Makate, prompting Vodacom to appeal to the SCA. The SCA dismissed Vodacom’s appeal and ordered the company to pay Makate between 5% and 7.5% of the revenue generated by the Please Call Me service over an 18-year period. Estimates based on this ruling suggested a payout between R29 billion and R55 billion, depending on the revenue data used.
Vodacom then escalated the matter back to the Constitutional Court, arguing that the SCA had relied too heavily on data presented by Makate’s legal team without sufficient scrutiny. The telco maintained that a fair compensation figure would be closer to R50 million.
With the Constitutional Court’s latest decision, the case will now return to the SCA for a fresh hearing before a new panel of judges. This prolongs what has already become one of South Africa’s most high-profile and enduring legal battles over intellectual property and employee rights.
