Please Call Me inventor Nkosana Makate is pleased Vodafone has been refused permission to support Vodacom in the upcoming Constitutional Court (ConCourt) hearing on the matter.
This, after the ConCourt last week rejected an application by Vodacom’s UK-based controlling shareholder to join the Please Call Me case, as a friend of the court.
The ConCourt found that “no case has been made by Vodafone” in its bid to be admitted in the matter as a friend of the court.
Makate and Vodacom have been embroiled in litigation over the mobile product for almost 16 years.
“Well, I am elated that now I can focus on finalising this long-standing matter without distractions of Vodacom’s controlling shareholder,” Makate told ITWeb.
In its application, Vodafone had argued it would contribute towards effective debate around the matter, providing insights into valuable information from the perspective of a global shareholder.
Vodafone’s shareholding in Vodacom increased from 60.5% to 65.1%, in December 2022.
Next month, Vodacom is expected to present its leave to appeal a ruling that ordered the telecoms operator to compensate Makate.
Vodacom in February lodged an application with the ConCourt for leave to appeal a previous ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
The application came after the mobile operator suffered another loss in the legal battle, and was ordered to determine new compensation for Makate. The compensation should be between 5% and 7.5% of the total voice revenue generated by the Please Call Me service, derived from prepaid or contract offerings from March 2001 to March 2021 (18 years), including interest.
It also noted Makate is entitled to 27% of the Please Call Me messages sent daily as being revenue generated by the return calls.
Explaining the next phase of the legal battle, Makate says: “Vodacom is required to file the record before the end of September, and file their heads [of argument] in the first week of October, and I will then file a response on 17 October. The filing of papers will be completed in October with my filings of heads and reply to Vodacom’s papers, and thereafter we shall wait for the Constitutional Court to direct and advise.”
In its ConCourt appeal, Vodacom previously said the SCA’s order impinges on the rule of law in terms of section one of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 and deprives the operator of its right to a fair trial under section 34 of the Constitution.
The telco further said if the SCA judgement is upheld, this would negatively impact its employees, shareholders and the company’s contribution to public finances.
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