EXPLAINER: 18 Years of Litigation — The ‘Please Call Me’ Saga Finally Ends
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GUEST: Mpumelelo Zikalala – Legal Analyst
After nearly two decades, one of South Africa’s most closely watched legal battles has finally come to an end. Vodacom and former employee Nkosana Makate have reached an out-of-court settlement over the invention of the iconic “Please Call Me” service a dispute that’s spanned 18 years, five court judgments, and billions of rand in claims.
In this conversation, legal analyst Mpumelelo Zikalala joins Gugulethu Mfuphi to unpack the full timeline from Makate’s original idea as a Vodacom trainee in 2000, to the Constitutional Court’s landmark 2016 ruling affirming his right to be compensated, and the years of appeals, counterclaims, and negotiations that followed.
After nearly two decades, one of South Africa’s most closely watched legal battles has finally come to an end. Vodacom and former employee Nkosana Makate have reached an out-of-court settlement over the invention of the iconic “Please Call Me” service a dispute that’s spanned 18 years, five court judgments, and billions of rand in claims.
In this conversation, legal analyst Mpumelelo Zikalala joins Gugulethu Mfuphi to unpack the full timeline from Makate’s original idea as a Vodacom trainee in 2000, to the Constitutional Court’s landmark 2016 ruling affirming his right to be compensated, and the years of appeals, counterclaims, and negotiations that followed.
