This past weekend, I rewatched ReMastered: The Lion’s Share, the heartbreaking 2019 documentary about Solomon Linda, the Zulu musician who composed Mbube (later The Lion Sleeps Tonight) in 1939. The documentary chronicles South African journalist Riaan Malan’s efforts to help Linda’s family secure fair compensation.
When Linda died in 1962, he had just $25 in his bank account, while those who appropriated his music and culture continued to smile all the way to their banks.
It took decades of global legal battles before Linda’s three daughters each received about $250,000 (R4.8m) from a settlement that expired in 2017 — a paltry sum compared to earnings from their father’s song.
“The whole case seemed to be infused with huge symbolic significance for South Africans, for a nation that had been on the losing side of history for such a long time,” Malan observed.
A similar historical injustice has reared its ugly head today in the matter of Nkosana Makate’s battle for fair compensation for his Please Call Me (PCM) invention.
Makate has been involved in a 25-year battle against Vodacom which remains unresolved. For more than 9,131 days — almost a quarter of a century — Makate has fought for fair compensation from the telecom giant that profited billions from his idea.
Despite multiple court victories, justice remains elusive. In 2016, the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously that Vodacom must compensate him. Earlier last year, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) reaffirmed his right to 5% of PCM revenue for 18 years — a figure Vodacom once acknowledged in court papers.
Yet after nine court losses, Vodacom continues engaging in legal manoeuvres while Makate waits.
The Constitutional Court’s current four-month delay in delivering judgment is particularly troubling when contrasted with its swift two-week dismissal of Vodacom’s procedural attempts to involve parent company Vodafone and empowerment partner YeboYethu.
This inexplicable delay, which started in November 2024, could see Makate’s 16-year-old daughter, born after this legal battle began, reach adulthood before the matter is finally resolved.
When courts allow deep-pocketed corporations to outlast individuals through endless appeals, they undermine faith in legal fairness
The parallels with Linda’s tragedy are chilling. Linda’s daughters lived in poverty while US and South African record companies and Disney profited from his song.
This injustice appears set to repeat itself in the case of Makate vs Vodacom.
Vodacom appears hell-bent on sapping Makate’s will through endless litigation, in the mistaken belief he’ll accept their less-than-fair R47m offer (with interest R80m) rather than pursue the full compensation his innovation warrants.
The apex court must recognise this tactic for what it is and act decisively to end it.
The legal principles here are unambiguous:
- First, double jeopardy applies — Vodacom cannot relitigate a settled matter. The SCA’s ruling stands unless overturned for reasons of a clear legal error, and none exists.
- Second, Vodacom has already admitted liability — court papers show they don’t dispute owing 5% of PCM revenue from 2001-2009. The only outstanding matter is the disputed settlement amount. The obligation to compensate was long settled.
- Third, and perhaps most crucially, public trust in our justice system hangs in the balance. When courts allow deep-pocketed corporations to outlast individuals through endless appeals, they undermine faith in legal fairness.
The court can, without further delay, uphold the SCA ruling and order Vodacom to pay Makate. Such a move would go a long way in reasserting the judiciary’s role as protector of citizens against corporate power.
On the other hand, further delays in resolving the impasse could erode the Constitutional Court’s credibility, and embolden corporate impunity.
There is no middle ground.
Linda’s family was forced to wait too long for justice.
The ConCourt must not allow Makate’s family to suffer the same fate. As the legal maxim goes: justice delayed is justice denied.
By any measure, a 25-year-long battle for justice is too long. If the ConCourt fails to deliver judgment this year, we will witness not just the defeat of one man’s quest for fairness, but the steady erosion of justice itself.
The court must rule now — not just for Makate’s sake, but for every South African who still believes in the legal system that protects the powerless against the powerful.
To Makate, I say when the battle feels too heavy to carry on remember the words of author Richelle E Goodrich: “You may be the only person left who believes in you, but it’s enough. It takes just one star to pierce a universe of darkness. Never give up.”
• Lourie is founder and editor of Tech Financials
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