Madlanga lays into SCA in 'Please Call Me' ruling
Retiring acting deputy chief justice, Mbuyiseli Madlanga, has ruled that the Supreme Court of Appeal committed a fundamental failure of justice in handling the 'Please Call Me’ case between inventor Nkosana Makate and Vodacom.
Delivering his final Constitutional Court judgment before retirement on Thursday, Madlanga said the SCA failed to assess key facts, ignored evidence, and offered inadequate reasoning.
He concluded that these flaws breached the right to a fair hearing.
"Flaws in the assessment constitute a breach of the rule of law," he told the apex court.
"The Supreme Court of Appeal failed to decide the question of whether Vodacom's determination was inequitable. A shortcoming of this notion constitutes a breach of the duty of proper consideration."
Meanwhile, Makate said he is confident the Supreme Court of Appeal will compel Vodacom to pay R9.4 billion in compensation.
Makate rejected Vodacom’s earlier offer of R47 million.
He said the appeal will lead to the next decision.
"Well, I'm still resilient. I mean, I'll forever be. We'll go to the SCA, and the SCA must just look at the case and then provide us with the judgment that will then stand the test.
"The court has not decided on anything that the SCA has done except for them not to express themselves on certain things that were before the SCA," Makate added.
[WATCH] Nkosana Makate reacts to the unanimous ConCourt ruling that the SCA committed several errors in handling Vodacom’s appeal over the 5% compensation order for #PleaseCallMe. Makate says he remains determined to fight. pic.twitter.com/KunWNYiYcG
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) July 31, 2025
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