Zuko Komisa

- The Constitutional Court has ordered the Supreme Court of Appeal to rehear the “Please Call Me” case between Kenneth Makate and Vodacom.
- The court ruled that the SCA failed to properly consider crucial evidence and accepted Makate’s calculations without question.
- This marks the second time the case has been before the Constitutional Court, following an initial 2016 ruling in Makate’s favour.
The Constitutional Court has issued a scathing judgment, ordering the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to rehear the long-running “Please Call Me” case between Kenneth Nkosana Makate and Vodacom.
The apex court ruled that the SCA had failed its “duty of proper consideration” by not examining key evidence and uncritically accepting Makate’s compensation calculations.
This is the second time the case has reached the Constitutional Court.
In 2016, the court had already ruled that a verbal agreement existed between Vodacom and Makate and ordered the parties to negotiate a fair compensation. Makate, a former trainee accountant at Vodacom, conceptualised the “Please Call Me” service in 2000.

Despite a compensation offer of R47 million from Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub, the parties failed to reach a settlement. Makate rejected the offer as “insulting” and sought up to R126 billion in subsequent court cases, securing favourable rulings in both the High Court and the SCA.
The judgment was delivered by Acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga on his final day on the bench. He noted that the judges “agonised” over the case, as it was unprecedented in South African legal history for a superior court to have failed so completely in its duties. The SCA must now rehear the case with a new panel of judges.
JUST IN: Please Call Me inventor #NkosanaMakate says he will abide with the Constitutional Court ruling.
— Kaya News (@KayaNews) July 31, 2025
Makate adds he will continue to fight to get what he deserves. KH#KayaNews https://t.co/ZR637zlIv0 pic.twitter.com/7uNOQETBEd
Listen to the full conversation here:
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