DURBAN - Court judgment on the “Please Call Me” matter between Nkosana Makate and Vodacom is to be delivered within two months by another judge to be appointed by the Deputy Judge President (DJP) Aubrey Ledwaba of the South Gauteng High Court.
This comes after the Daily News inquired with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on Monday when it emerged that the matter which was heard on May 5-7 in the South Gauteng High Court, presided by the now-Supreme Court of Appeal judge Wendy Hughes had not been finalised.
Spokesperson of the South African Judiciary Nathi Mncube told the Daily News that after consultations with Judge Hughes and DJP Ledwaba, it was agreed that judgment would be delivered within two months.
“DJP Ledwaba has informed me that the matter was discussed with Hughes and she advised that due to the volume of the record and the complex issues in the matter the judgment would be finalised within two months from now. It will be delivered by another judge at the high court,” said Mncube.
The nearly 21-year old battle between Makate and Vodacom to review the determination by Vodacom on how much “Please Call Me” owner Makate would receive for the idea he gave to the telecommunications giant that had offered R47 million which Makate strongly opposed as he believed they owed him more than R10 billion.
Asked whether it was normal for judgments to stall over six months after the hearing, JSC spokesperson Dali Mpofu said: ”generally judgments must not be handed down later than six months after the hearing of the matter unless there is a good and acceptable reason not to. Since no complaint has been lodged in respect of this matter, it would be best to refer the inquiry to the Office of the Judge President of the Gauteng Division.”
In response to these developments, Makate said that he was happy that the judgment would be finalised as it has dragged on for over 20 years.
“The matter has also been in our courts for over 12 years in total. The Concourt ruled on the matter in 2016 and required its speedy finalisation and this should bring closure in line with the Concourt’s order and directive albeit more than five years since that ruling. This is good news indeed.”
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