Lesufi: Apartheid couldn’t silence me and neither will Vodacom
Panyaza Lesufi says he will not be silenced by Vodacom from speaking on its unfair treatment of the ‘Please Call Me’ inventor Nkosana Makate.
Lesufi, who is Gauteng’s education MEC, was speaking in his personal capacity at the Milpark Garden Court in Auckland Park on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, lawyers representing the cellular giant network served Lesufi with cease-and-desist letters demanding that he to stop making “defamatory comments” about Vodacom.
However, Lefusi is adamant that he will not be silenced
“One thing for sure no one has the right to silence me, the apartheid regime didn’t silence me... who is Vodacom?”
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The African National Congress’ (ANC) Liliesleaf Farm Branch and Please Call Me Movement were planning to shut down the Vodacom offices in Midrand on Thursday.
They are calling on Vodacom to pay Makate the money owned to him as the inventor of the please call me service.
Vodacom on Tuesday released a statement saying it will be closing down their offices ahead of the planned mass action.
Lesufi says the protest action has been called off, while giving Vodacom until Thursday to reach an agreement with Makate.
Failure to do so will see Lesufi and the movements driving a campaign to urge consumers to boycott all Vodacom products.
“We are also calling on our people to immediately terminate their contracts with Vodacom, so that Vodacom can understand that they have indeed angered society," said Lesufi.
The government will also be lobbied to cancel any contracts it has with Vodacom.
The ANC LiliesLeaf Farm Branch, in a statement, said the branch will be relieving Lesufi of the Vodacom matter and will in future tackle the fight with the service provider.