A South African Court has ruled that the inventor of the “Please Call Me” call back service Nkosana Makate is entitled to 5 per cent of the total voice revenue the micro-text service has generated since its inception in March 2001 to March 2021.

This amount is much higher compared to the amount Vodacom previously offered after a Constitutional Court Ruling in 2019.

The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria also ordered that the inventor be entitled to 27 per cent of the revenue collected from the calls returned from ‘Please Call Me’ service.

Judge Wendy Hughes ordered the CEO of Vodacom Shameel Joosub to finalise the arrangement in a month’s time from the day the orders were issued.

Joosub was also directed to make a fresh determination of Makate’s payment of 5 per cent of the total voice revenue generated from the service and the total voice revenue obtained from prepaid, contract and interconnect fees.

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Makate was clearly impressed with the court's decision and took to his Twitter account to express his joy for the outcome.

"Madam Justice Hughes 4A concise and solid judgment. I am refuelled with energy," Makate tweeted.

He thanked all his supporters and claimed another victory at the court.

"THANKS TO ALL WHO SUPPORTED ME. ANOTHER VICTORY AT THE HIGH COURT," he tweeted

However, Vodacom indicated it will appeal the court’s decision. The company previously offered Sh354 million, which it felt was overly generous.

"Vodacom remains of the view its negotiations with Mr Makate were held in good faith, as determined in the order of the Constitutional Court issued on 26 April 2016," Vodacom said.

Makate had rejected the SH 354 million settlement and moved to court to seek review.

The “Please Call Me” service was launched in February 2001. It allows mobile Vodacom and Safaricom subscribers to send a free call back text through a USSD.

Makate invented the service while he was still working with Vodacom and the service has earned Vodacom about Sh526 billion so far.