IN PICS | Nkosana Makate's battle with Vodacom referred back to appeal court

In a unanimous ruling read by the outgoing acting deputy chief justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga in his last sitting in the Constitutional Court on Thursday, the court signalled it was unhappy with certain aspects of a previous SCA ruling.

July 31, 2025 at 01:55 pm

Isaac Mahlangu

Senior reporter

The legal battle for compensation between 'Please Call Me' inventor Nkosana Makate and Vodacom has been referred back to the Supreme Court of Appeal. (Thapelo Morebudi)

“Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate and Vodacom's legal battle for compensation has been referred back to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

In a unanimous ruling read by outgoing acting deputy chief justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga in his last sitting in the Constitutional Court on Thursday, the court signalled it was unhappy with certain aspects of a previous SCA ruling.

The SCA judgment had set aside a R47m offer that Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub made to Makate six years ago, which Makate rejected. It ordered Vodacom to pay Makate between 5% and 7.5% of the total voice revenue generated by the service over 18 years from March 2001 to March 2021, plus interest.