A long-running legal standoff between South Africa’s leading telecom operator, Vodacom, and its former employee Nkosana Makate — the brain behind the revolutionary “Please Call Me” service — has finally been resolved after 17 years.
In a statement to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Vodacom confirmed that its board had approved an out-of-court settlement on November 4, effectively closing one of South Africa’s most closely watched corporate legal battles.
“Shareholders are hereby advised that on 4 November 2025, the Vodacom board approved a settlement agreement and the matter was settled by the parties out of court,” the company said.
Vodacom, a subsidiary of British telecoms giant Vodafone, did not reveal how much it agreed to pay Makate, who had previously rejected an offer of 47 million rand (approximately $2.7 million), insisting the figure grossly undervalued his idea’s contribution to the company’s success.
The telecom operator noted that the financial implications of the settlement would be reflected in its results for the six months ending September 2025, due for release on November 10. As part of the agreement, Vodacom has withdrawn its case at the Supreme Court of Appeal, signaling a definitive end to the long-drawn dispute.
The “Please Call Me” service — a simple yet groundbreaking innovation that allows users without airtime to request a callback — became a staple across mobile networks in Africa, transforming customer communication in the early 2000s.
Makate first pitched the idea to Vodacom’s then-director of product development more than two decades ago. According to court filings, the company agreed to test the concept and compensate him with a share of the revenue it generated. However, when the product proved commercially successful, Vodacom allegedly failed to honor that agreement.
The legal wrangle has since journeyed through multiple layers of South Africa’s court system, including the Constitutional Court, which in July found “major flaws” in a lower court ruling that deemed Vodacom’s earlier compensation offer inequitable.
While the settlement details remain confidential, the resolution marks the end of one of South Africa’s most enduring innovation and intellectual property disputes — a case that tested both corporate accountability and the value of ideas in the digital economy.
For Makate, who took on one of Africa’s largest corporations and refused to back down, the closure of this chapter may finally bring vindication after nearly two decades of courtroom battles.
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