Makate accepts Vodacom gag ord

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Makate accepts Vodacom gag order

Why all the secrecy?

Makate accepts Vodacom gag ord

Canva.com image

According to News24, the matter between Nkosana Makate and Vodacom has partially been settled out of court, at least the part where he is not allowed to disclose his dealings with the mobile network to anyone.

A decade later and Makate still makes slow progress in negotiations

It was a little over ten years ago when Makate took South Africa’s mobile network giant to court over the ownership rights of the ‘Please Call Me’ feature.

Although the courts had ordered Vodacom to pay Makate his just dues in 2016, the negotiations have not progressed any closer to actioning that order, it seems.

However, this recent development has sparked an interest in the matter and people are wondering, why all the secrecy?

It is understood that Vodacom approached the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday to obtain an interdict, prohibiting Makate from divulging any details on their negotiations to outside parties.

A gag order dished out with a side complaint

Judge Natvarial Ranchord of the North Gauteng High Court composed and put into effect a draft order, as everything was agreed upon between the two parties outside of court.

The order stipulates that Makate is, from here onwards, prohibited from sharing information defined in the confidential agreement.

It also appears that Vodacom has included a complaint to the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) and Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) directed at Makate for requesting information pertaining to specific paragraphs found in KPMG’s forensic investigation from November 2008.

It seems, though, that Makate was already aware of this and had no objections on the issue, stating that “we obviously gravitate towards an agreement, and this order was by agreement. It’s already the undertaking that I made without coming to court, so I am happy and don’t have a problem with it”.

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