In a stunning and costly twist in one of South Africa’s most protracted corporate legal battles, the Constitutional Court has delivered a heavy blow to “Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate. On Tuesday, the apex court upheld Vodacom’s appeal, a decision that not only resets the multi-billion-rand compensation case but also saddles Makate with a R13 million bill for the telecom giant’s legal costs incurred at the Constitutional Court.
The ruling centers on a critical procedural flaw. The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) had previously intervened to set a specific compensation amount for Makate—a figure of over R50 million—after it deemed the protracted negotiations between the parties to have failed. However, the Constitutional Court found that the SCA had overstepped its bounds. The apex court ruled that the SCA should not have set the amount itself but should have instead sent the matter back to Vodacom’s CEO to make a fresh determination, in what is known as a “remittal.”
This technicality proved devastatingly expensive for Makate. By setting aside the SCA’s ruling on these grounds, the Constitutional Court effectively nullified the victory Makate had secured at that level. The legal consequence is that Vodacom, as the successful party in this specific appeal, is entitled to its costs. The court levied these costs against Makate personally, to the tune of R13 million.
“This is a profound and painful setback,” said a member of Makate’s legal team outside the court. “After nearly two decades of fighting for what is rightfully his, Mr. Makate is now facing a personal financial crisis. This is not just a legal battle; it’s a fight for his livelihood and recognition.”
The R13 million bill represents the cost of the high-stakes legal fight at the nation’s highest court, including a team of senior counsel. Makate has publicly challenged this bill, questioning its scale and timing, and has indicated he will seek a reconsideration, a move that adds another layer of litigation to the already complex case.
Despite this significant setback, a crucial door remains open for Makate. The Constitutional Court’s order remits the core issue of compensation back to the SCA for a rehearing. This preserves the heart of Makate’s claim and the potential for a multi-billion-rand payout, as determined in earlier proceedings. The case now returns to the SCA with a specific instruction: to order Vodacom’s CEO to go back to the drawing board and determine a “reasonable compensation” figure for the idea that generated tens of billions in revenue for the company, this time under the SCA’s supervisory eye.
The ruling underscores the brutal financial realities of high-stakes litigation against corporate giants. For Nkosana Makate, the journey for justice continues, but the path has become steeper, now paved with a multi-million-rand debt to the very company he has been fighting for half his life. The battle for the “Please Call Me” idea is now not only a fight for a reward but also a race against a mounting cost that threatens to overshadow it.
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