Johannesburg – ‘Please Call Me’ inventor Nkosana Makate today scored a major victory after the Gauteng High Court ruled that Vodacom must pay him more than the R47 million it offered in the long running saga.
The battle between Makate and his former employers began in the early 200s when he was a trainee at the company.
During his time with the company, he came up with “Please call me”, an idea Vodacom bought into and rolled out the idea in March 2001 which proved to be a success, allegedly generating billions of rands for Vodacom.
Makate is demanding R10 billion in compensation from Vodacom. However, Vodacom only offered Makate R47-million.
Judge Wendy Hughes on Tuesday ruled that Vodacom’s CEO Shameel Joosub has one month in which he has to recalculate what is owed to Makate, using the guidelines laid down by the court.
Hughes ruled that Makate is entitled to 5% of the total voice revenue generated from the please call me product over 20 years, from March 2001 to March 2021, which would amount to a handsome figure for Makate.
Makate expressed his delight at the latest court judgement via his Twitter account. “Thanks to all who supported me. Another victory at the high court,” he wrote.
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