Vodacom Allegedly Looking To Settle out of Court for ‘Please Call Me’ Saga With Nkosana Makete

Vodacom Allegedly Looking To Settle out of Court for ‘Please Call Me’ Saga With Nkosana Makete

  • Telecommunications giant Vodacom is allegedly expected to settle out of court with 'Please Call Me' inventor Nkosana Makete
  • This came after the Supreme High Court ruled that Makate was entitled to between R29 billion and R63 billion for his invention
  • Vodacom reached out to Briefly News with a comment
  • South Africans are eager to see how much Vodacom will give Makate, hoping he gets what's due

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered policy changes, the State of the Nation Address, politician-related news and elections at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News for over seven years. Do you have a hard news story you would like to share? Email tebogo.mokwena@briefly.co.za with CA in the subject line.

Vodacom is expected to settle out of court with Nkosana Makata
Vodacom might settle out of court with Makata. Images: Tshepo Kekana/Sowetan/Gallo Images/Getty Images and Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Source: Getty Images

JOHANNESBURG – Vodacom is allegedly planning on settling out of court with Nkosana Makate, who invented the 'Please Call Me'. This comes after the Supreme Court ruled in Makate's favour after he rejected the initial offer Vodacom made.

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Vodacom to settle out of court

Vodacom allegedly requested private talks with Makate after the ruling was passed and Makate is willing to engage. BusinessTech reported that Vodacom was ordered to fork out R47 million in 2016 after losing court battles in which they opposed Makate's claims. Makate rejected the earlier offer and the company was ordered to return to the drawing board.

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Vodacom speaks to Briefly News

Vodacom's spokesperson, Khensani Mthombeni responded to Briefly News:

"Vodacom declines to comment given the confidential nature of the negotiations."

South Africans eager for the outcome

South Africans are in discussion after @MDNNewss posted the announcement on Twitter. Many were in awe of how Makate refused to budge and fought for what's his.

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Schools in Naija said:

"Man is about to cash out big-time. Intellectual property rights should not be taken with levity."

Sandiso said:

"Mr Makete is the practical example of never doubting what you believe in."

Tsonga king said:

"He's covered for life."

Lover observed;

"The way they're dragging this, it's like they're patiently waiting for the guy to kick the bucket."

Nathi Mlangeni said:

"They must give him his money. It's been long overdue."

Vodacom suffers another legal loss in 'Please Call Me' saga

In a similar article, Briefly News reported that Vodacom lost a court bid to have the Pretoria High Court amend a 2020 ruling in favour of Nkosana Makate.

Vodacom was ordered by the court to provide Makate with contracts between Makate and Vodacom, and Vodacom claimed that they did not have all their contracts. Their bid was dismissed, and they were ordered to pay Makate's legal fees.

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Tebogo Mokwena avatar

Tebogo Mokwena (Current Affairs editor) Tebogo Mokwena is a Current Affairs Editor at Briefly News. He has a Diploma in Journalism from ALISON. He joined Daily Sun, where he worked for 4 years covering politics, crime, entertainment, current affairs, policy, governance and art. He was also a sub-editor and journalist for Capricorn Post before joining Vutivi Business News in 2020, where he covered small business news policy and governance, analysis and profiles. He joined Briefly News in 2023. Tebogo passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative Email: tebogo.mokwena@briefly.co.za