Battle for Makate millions

CLAIM: 'EXTORTIONISTS' WANT 40% OF REPORTED R700M 'PLEASE CALL ME' PAYOUT

- Ciaran Ryan

STILL FIGHTING. Kenneth Nkosana Makate. It's nearly 25 years since the Please Call Me service was launched. Picture: @makate_nkosana via x

(@makate_nkosana via x)

'Extortionists' are trying to claim 40% of Kenneth Makate's expected payout of R700 million from Vodacom, says the "Please Call Me" inventor.

Nearly 25 years after the launch of the Please Call Me service - allowing users to send a free SMS message requesting someone to call them back when they have no airtime - Makate is going back to court on an urgent basis to defend a claim by Black Rock Mining (BRM), a private UK-based company, that it is entitled to 40% of his payout from Vodacom.

Makate has spent much of the past two decades in a court battle with Vodacom seeking fair compensation for his invention.

Now that Vodacom and Makate's legal team have settled at a reported R700 million - though the exact figure is the subject of a confidentiality agreement - he now finds himself having to return to court to defend his winnings.

Last week, BRM filed an urgent application in the High Court in Johannesburg, arguing Makate had breached an agreement with it by settling with Vodacom on 4 November without written consent. Based on the estimated R700 million settlement, BRM's claim comes to about R280 million (40%) plus interest.