Vodacom Settles "Please Call Me" Dispute with Kenneth Makate After Nearly Two Decades
In a landmark resolution, Vodacom has settled its long-running dispute with Kenneth Nkosana Makate over the "Please Call Me" feature, bringing an end to nearly two decades of legal wrangling. The out-of-court settlement was reached on 4 November 2025.
The saga began in 2001, revolving around Makate's innovative "Please Call Me" mechanism, which Vodacom successfully implemented. What started as a seemingly straightforward compensation agreement quickly escalated into a protracted legal battle. Makate maintained that Vodacom had agreed to compensate him for his contribution, a claim the telecommunications giant vehemently denied.
The first significant judgement came in 2014 from the Gauteng High Court. While the court confirmed the existence of a contract between Makate and Vodacom, it ruled that the company was not bound by it.
Undeterred, Makate appealed the decision, initiating a lengthy legal process that saw the case move through various levels of the South African judiciary.
A pivotal moment arrived in 2016 when South Africa’s Constitutional Court ruled that Makate was indeed entitled to negotiate for reasonable compensation based on his idea. The court mandated that if negotiations failed, Vodacom’s CEO, Shameel Joosub, would make the final decision on the compensation amount.
However, negotiations took a turbulent turn when Joosub's offer of R47 million was rejected by Makate, who argued that the true worth of his idea far exceeded that sum. The legal battle intensified, culminating in a February 2024 ruling from the Supreme Court of Appeal. The court ruled that Makate was entitled to between 5% and 7.5% of the revenue generated from the "Please Call Me" service over an 18-year period—a potential sum that could have run into billions of rand.
Faced with the prospect of substantial payments, Vodacom initially sought leave to appeal this ruling. However, in a surprising turn of events, the telecommunications giant announced on Thursday, November 5, 2025, that its board had approved a settlement agreement, withdrawing its appeal and abandoning the February judgement in the High Court.
While the specific details of the settlement remain undisclosed, Vodacom has expressed its satisfaction that the matter has finally reached a conclusion. In a statement, the company advised shareholders that "on 4 November 2025, the Vodacom Board approved a settlement agreement, and the matter was settled by the parties out of court. The parties are glad that finality has been reached in this regard."
The recent settlement has already been factored into Vodacom's interim results for the six months ending September 30, 2025. The resolution of this long-standing dispute marks a significant moment for both Vodacom and Kenneth Makate, bringing closure to a complex and often contentious chapter in South African legal history.
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