Johannesburg – In a move that closes one of the most protracted chapters in South African tech history, Vodacom Group has reached an out-of-court settlement with Nkosana Makate, the inventor of the “Please Call Me” service.
Shareholders were notified that on 4 November 2025, the Vodacom Board approved a settlement agreement, finally drawing a line under the 25-year-old dispute.
The announcement signals a strategic decision to avoid further legal appeals and secure closure for both parties.
“The parties are glad that finality has been reached in this regard,” the statement read, marking a stark contrast to the years of litigation that saw the case move through multiple South African courts.
The financial details of the settlement were not publicly disclosed.
However, the company confirmed that “the settlement has been accounted for in the Group’s interim results for the six-month period ended 30 September 2025, subsequent to the publication of a trading statement on SENS on 31 October 2025 related to those interim results.”
To formalise the conclusion, Vodacom took immediate legal steps. “As part of the settlement process, a notice was sent to the Supreme Court of Appeal withdrawing Vodacom’s appeal.
Additionally, a notice was sent to the High Court to abandon the 8 February 2022 judgment,” the company stated.
This settlement ends a saga that began in 2000 when Makate, then a Vodacom trainee, proposed the concept for the missed-call messaging service.
In his legal battle, The Bulrushes reports that Makate has been demanding fair compensation for “inventing” the Please Call Me service, which he had suggested was about R10 billion.
Countering that demand, Vodacom’s fair compensation estimate was around R50 million.
The Supreme Court had previously ordered Vodacom to compensate Makate between 5% and 7.5% of the revenue generated by the Please Call Me service over 18 years.
That amount was estimated at between R29 billion and R55 billion.
However, the settlement remains confidential.
*This article first appeared in our sister publication techfinancials.co.za
