Please Call Me inventor Kenneth Makate says he plans to continue working at the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), where he serves as a financial controller – despite finally settling his two-decade-long legal battle with Vodacom.
Vodacom and Makate announced last Wednesday that they had reached an out-of-court settlement over compensation for his “Please Call Me” idea, bringing an end to nearly 18 years of litigation.
Dismissed speculation
Although the settlement amount was not disclosed, Vodacom confirmed that it would impact its upcoming half-year financial results.
Based on changes in its trading statement, the payout has been estimated to be between R353 million and R748 million.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Makate said he had no plans to take a break or leave his current job.
“I’m locked in until I decide otherwise,” he said, adding that nothing compares to the relief of finally ending years of stressful litigation.
Makate also dismissed speculation that Vodacom would reveal the settlement amount during its results presentation on Monday, saying both parties were bound by non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
“There are no penalties if the amount is revealed,” he explained, “but I gave my word, and I hope Vodacom will also stick to theirs.”
Longest-running corporate legal battle
Makate first proposed the “Please Call Me” idea in November 2000 while working as a trainee accountant at Vodacom.
He described a feature that would let customers “buzz” another user without airtime – a concept later launched by Vodacom in 2001.
Although Vodacom initially credited Makate for the idea in an internal newsletter, he was never compensated.
He sued the company in 2008, setting off one of South Africa’s most high-profile intellectual property disputes.
After losing in the High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), Makate eventually won at the Constitutional Court in April 2016, which ordered Vodacom to negotiate “reasonable compensation” in good faith.
Appealed
Vodacom’s CEO Shameel Joosub later offered R47 million, but Makate rejected it as “shocking,” taking the matter back to court.
The SCA ruled in his favour, ordering Vodacom to pay between 5% and 7.5% of Please Call Me’s revenue – an amount potentially worth tens of billions of rand.
Vodacom appealed again, and earlier this year the Constitutional Court overturned the SCA’s ruling, calling it a “total failure of justice” and ordering a rehearing.
That rehearing had been scheduled for 18 November 2025 – until the settlement was reached this week.
The agreement finally closes one of South Africa’s longest-running and most publicised corporate legal battles, giving Makate the closure he has sought for nearly two decades.
