Telecommunications

This is how much Vodacom will pay Makate

Luke Fraser

 ·6 Nov 2025

The Please Call Me Case involving Kenneth Makate and Vodacom has come to an end, with Makate set to earn up to R750 million.

Vodacom revealed in an announcement to the market late last night, 05 November, that the two parties had reached an agreement out of court. 

“The parties are glad that finality has been reached in this regard,” Vodacom said.

As per the settlement process, a notice was sent to the Supreme Court of Appeal withdrawing Vodacom’s appeal. A notice was also sent to the High Court to abandon the 8 February 2022 judgment. 

The Please Call Me battle has lasted for two decades, with Makate claiming to have invented the service. He initially claimed that he should be compensated for the idea for close to R10 billion. 

Makate claims that he conceived the idea for a free missed-call service that would enable customers to capture their contacts’ attention without incurring airtime costs, but this assertion is highly contested. 

After sharing the idea with his superior at Vodacom in 2001, he said he was promised compensation. After not receiving the payment, he launched a legal battle against Vodacom.

The case reached the Constitutional Court, where it ordered Vodacom to pay Makate fairly for his idea.

Vodacom increased its compensation offer from R10 million to R47 million, which Makate rejected, prompting a return to the courts.

In the second round of legal battles, the matter again reached the Constitutional Court, but was sent back to the SCA over extreme issues in the case. 

This was the final part of the legal battle, with the parties now reaching a settlement, which Vodacom said would be included in its interim results for the six-month period ended September 30, 2025.

How much it work out to

While the exact figures are yet to be released, Vodacom has issued a revised trading statement that recognises a “one-off cost impacting FY1H26.”

Vodacom’s initial trading statement indicated that earnings per share would increase by between 40% and 45% to a range of R4.94 to R5.12. 

However, its latest trading statement now sees earnings per share increase by between 30% to 40% to a range between R4.60 and R4.96. 

When using the extra shares, Vodacom’s high-end difference between the two trading statements sits around R353 million, while the low-end sits at R748 million.

The final details will be included in Vodacom’s interim results, which are due next week, Tuesday, 10 November 2025.