In a major development that brings one of South Africa’s longest-running corporate disputes to a close, Vodacom Group has reached an out-of-court settlement with former employee Kenneth Makate over the ‘Please Call Me’ invention.
Moneyweb reported that the telecoms giant confirmed the news in a brief Sens statement issued after the Johannesburg market closed on Wednesday.
“Shareholders are hereby advised that on 4 November 2025, the Vodacom board approved a settlement agreement, and the matter was settled by the parties out of court,” the company said. “The parties are glad that finality has been reached in this regard.”
The agreement marks the end of a 17-year legal battle that reached South Africa’s highest court. Makate, who first proposed the idea for the free call-back message service more than two decades ago, had been locked in a long dispute with Vodacom over compensation for his idea.
According to court documents, Makate shared his concept with Vodacom’s then-director of product development, who agreed to test it commercially and promised Makate a share of the revenue if the service proved successful.
The ‘Please Call Me’ feature became a massive success across South Africa, but Makate said he never received the promised payment.
Vodacom, which is majority-owned by Vodafone, did not disclose the settlement amount.
“The settlement has been accounted for in the group’s interim results for the six-month period ended 30 September 2025,” the company stated.
Those results are scheduled to be released on 10 November, when further details may be revealed.
Makate had previously turned down Vodacom’s offer of around R47 million, instead seeking a much larger amount, reportedly up to R10 billion.
While the exact figure agreed upon remains confidential, the settlement officially closes the chapter on what has been one of South Africa’s most publicised intellectual property disputes.
As part of the settlement process, a notice was sent to the Supreme Court of Appeal withdrawing Vodacom’s appeal, the group noted in its Sens filing. “Additionally, a notice was sent to the High Court to abandon the 8 February 2022 judgment.”
Earlier this year, Vodacom had secured a partial victory when the Constitutional Court identified major flaws in a lower court’s assessment of the case, which had found the company’s previous offer inequitable (Reuters).
Written by Lulama Klaasen
First published by Cape {Town} etc
Also see:‘Mr Please Call Me’ gate: ConCourt sends matter back to the Supreme Court
