The Constitutional Court has blasted the Supreme Court of Appeal SCA, accusing it of ignorance and granting 'Please Call Me' inventor Nkosana Makate an appeal he never sought.
Delivering the court's judgement on Thursday former acting chief justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga charged that the SCA also accepted whatever Makate told them when it ruled that he was entitled to between 5 and 7,5 revenue generated by Vodacom through Please Call Me since its inception in 2001.
'Another feature that I must touch on is the apparent readiness of the Supreme Court of Appeal to accept whatever Mr Makate said,' said Madlanga on Thursday, before referring the 24-year-old legal battle between Makate and the cellphone network giant back to the SCA.
On Thursday, the ConCourt was expected to bring to a close the court matter by delivering a judgement that would determine how much was due to Makate. However, this was not to be as the Apex court sent the matter back to the SCA for determination, which Madlanga said should be made by a new panel of judges.
In the judgment, Madlanga said the SCA acted beyond its jurisdiction and was in breach of law in Vodacom's appeal because Makate did not submit a cross appeal.