[imagesource: Simphiwe Nkwali]

The long, long, long-running saga of Vodacom versus the man who invented the network’s ‘Please Call Me’ concept rages on.

At various points, Nkosana Makate (sometimes referred to as Nkosana Kenneth Makate or just Kenneth Makate) has turned down offers from Vodacom, which ranged from R10 million through to R47 million.

Back in 2019, litigation funder Chris Schoeman, who met Makate in 2011 and helped fund legal efforts against Vodacom, says Makate has turned down close to R50 million because he is technically “bankrupt” and owes many people a lot of money.

The legal tussles started in 2008, years after the ‘Please Call Me’ concept was in use, and in 2016 it ended up in the Constitutional Court.

For the latest, here’s Fin24:

Vodacom says the R47 million its CEO offered “Please Call Me” inventor, Nkosana Makate, is already “overly generous”.

This comes ahead of a hearing next month for the compensation which SA’s largest cellular company offered Makate for coming up with the “Please Call Me” concept two decades ago when he was a trainee accountant.

How far apart are the two parties? Well, there has been R47 million on the table from Vodacom, but Makate is demanding an amount in excess of R10 billion.

The multibillion-rand figure is based on Makate’s argument that he was promised compensation for the concept on the basis of a share in the revenue that it would generate.

In the past, lawyers arguing on Makate’s behalf have said that the ‘Please Call Me’ concept generated in excess of R200 billion for Vodacom.

Makate says he is feeling “very upbeat about the review”, adding that he feels he is “on the last stretch of the fight with Vodacom”, but we know from past battles that Vodacom isn’t about to lose this one without a serious fight.

The review will be held in the Gauteng High Court from May 4 to May 6, so perhaps we may finally reach a resolution.

I wouldn’t bet on it, though.

[source:fin24]