'Please Call Me' protest falls on deaf ears outside Vodacom HQ in Midrand

31 January 2019 - 12:35 By Nonkululeko Njilo and Thapelo Morebudi
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'Please Call Me Movement' protesting outside Vodacom head office in Midrand. They are protesting in support of Nkosana Makate. Makate invented Please Call Me while he was employed by Voacom.
'Please Call Me Movement' protesting outside Vodacom head office in Midrand. They are protesting in support of Nkosana Makate. Makate invented Please Call Me while he was employed by Voacom.
Image: Thapelo Morebudi/The Sunday Times

Members of the "Please Call Me Movement" have expressed disappointment at Vodacom's failure to meet their protest at its Midrand headquarters in support of the "Please Call Me inventor" Nkosana Makate on Thursday morning.  

"We arrived at the headquarters and they were nowhere to be seen, they ran away," said the spokesperson for the movement, Phasha Mokgolane. 

Mokgolane spoke to TimesLIVE after almost 300 people gathered to demand that network provider Vodacom pay Makate the compensation he is campaigning for.

The protesters met with closed doors, but at one stage they attempted to force entry into the premises.

Security was tight outside, with the gates locked with chains and police vans present.

The crowd, which arrived in Midrand in buses and cars, carried placards and posters with messages of support for Makate. 

Some of the placards read: "Vodacom stop racism", "Justice 4 Makate" and "Vodacom liability R70 billion".  

The organisers had given Vodacom a deadline of 10am for the provider to pay Makate or face a "total shutdown".  

Vodacom has not responded directly to the protesters and their ultimatum and the movement says it will call a press briefing to detail its next move. 

The company has made a settlement offer to Makate, following lengthy legal processes - reportedly R49m. 

Makata has signalled that he intends to go to court again.

Neither party wants to disclose the actual amounts being contested, but big numbers are being tossed around on social media platforms.

On Wednesday, ANC Gauteng deputy chairperson Panyaza Lesufi called on all South Africans to boycott Vodacom if the stand-off is not resolved and Makate is not "appropriately compensated" by February 1.

"We are also calling on South Africans not to attend all Vodacom-sponsored activities, it can be sporting, racing, any activity that is supported or participants are sponsored by Vodacom.

"We are calling on our people to immediately terminate their contracts with Vodacom so that Vodacom can understand that they have angered society," he said.

Lesufi made the remarks despite being served with a cease-and-desist document by  Vodacom's lawyers, warning him to stop commenting on its ongoing battle with Makate. 

"Desist from making false and defamatory comments of and concerning our client in relation to its litigation with Mr Makate in general and in particular that our client is in wilful breach of the constitutional court order or that it is acting in an unfair and morally repugnant manner towards Mr Makate," said Vodacom.


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