Nkosana Makate, the inventor behind Vodacom’s iconic “Please Call Me” service, remains unfazed by recent claims from Black Rock Mining asserting entitlement to 40% of his multimillion-rand settlement with Vodacom. 

Black Rock Mining, however, had previously withdrawn its claim in 2024 and maintains that it never funded Makate’s legal battles.

Speaking to IOL on Tuesday, Makate expressed his surprise at the renewed media claims. 

“I have not received any summons nor any indication that they will approach the courts after they had dropped their claim from the High Court last year,” he told the publication. 

“I’m not bothered by these assertions, and I’m unsure why the company would now claim entitlement when it had already given up in court. This is nothing but extortion” 

He added that his attorneys would communicate any further developments as necessary.

Black Rock Mining, represented by SN Mnguni Attorneys Inc., has sent a letter to Vodacom demanding that the telecoms giant withhold payment to Makate or his legal representatives, Stemela & Lubbe Attorneys. 

Attorney Sinenhlanhla Mnguni stated that they have reason to believe Stemela & Lubbe might not distribute the awarded funds fairly to Black Rock.

In a letter viewed by IOL, Mnguni requested that Vodacom confirm whether payment instructions had been issued to Stemela & Lubbe’s trust account and warned that Black Rock intends to initiate legal action against Makate if the settlement is released without addressing their claim. 

The attorneys set a deadline, at the close of business on Monday, November 10, 2025, for Vodacom to provide an undert`aking not to pay Makate.

Failure to comply would result in Black Rock seeking a court interdict to withhold payment.

Black Rock’s claim traces to an agreement concluded between Makate and Chris Schoeman in 2011. 

The dispute between Makate and his former funders surfaced publicly in June 2016, shortly after Makate’s Constitutional Court victory. 

Schoeman accused the legal team, Stemela & Lubbe, of attempting to undermine the original funding contract by pressuring Makate into canceling it. 

Through another company, Raining Men Trade, Schoeman raised investment funds, allocating 4%–5% of the eventual settlement to each investor, all of whom bore the risk of an unfavourable outcome.

Meanwhile, Vodacom reported a 32.3% increase in half-year headline earnings per share (HEPS) to 467 cents, attributed partly to the one-off settlement payment to Makate over the “Please Call Me” matter - though the figure remains towards the low end of Vodacom’s updated guidance.

*This article was first published by IOL News