fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › Article

Nkosana Makate guns for man behind ‘attempts to extort me’

Sowetan · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · · 122 words · By Isaac Mahlangu
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Ready to play
Daily briefing

What to know about Nkosana Makate guns for man behind ‘attempts to extort me’

Story audio is generated using AI “Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate seeks to privately prosecute a British investor who is claiming 40% of his multimillion-rand settlement with Vodacom.

Claims checked 5
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Story audio is generated using AI “Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate seeks to privately prosecute a British investor who is claiming 40% of his multimillion-rand settlement with Vodacom.

Why it matters

After a two-decade battle with Vodacom for compensation which ended with an out-of-court settlement last year, Makate has entered a fresh battle against an investor claiming almost half his money.

Common ground

Errol Elsdon’s company, Black Rock Mining, has gone to the Johannesburg high court seeking a share of the settlement.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/2026-06-07-nkosana-makate-guns-for-man-behind-att…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 5 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5
check_circle
Claim 1: “Makate has hauled Black Rock Mining to the Pretoria high court in a bid to have its claim of entitlement dismissed due to misrepresentation and forgery.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results explicitly state that Makate has taken Black Rock Mining to the Pretoria High Court to have their claim dismissed based on allegations of misrepresentation and forgery.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Court shuts down Black Rock Mining's 'Please Call Me' urgent payout challenge. Black Rock Mining's urgent request to keep some of Nkosana Kenneth Makate's Vodacom payout was denied by the Gauteng High…
https://iol.co.za/news/crime-and-courts/please-call-me-battl…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The man behind Black Rock Mining, which claims in court papers to have funded Nkosana Makate’s legal battle against Vodacom in the ‘Please Call Me’ case to the tune of R4 million, allegedly diverted s…
https://www.itweb.co.za/article/makate-accuses-please-call-m…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In the papers, Makate said Black Rock failed to fund the litigation, failed to indemnify him against several adverse cost orders, and failed to pay a R4-million advance after his 2016 Constitutional C…
https://mybroadband.co.za/news/cellular/646107-please-call-m…
check_circle
Claim 2: “After a two-decade battle with Vodacom for compensation which ended with an out-of-court settlement last year”
CORROBORATED
The claim is confirmed by multiple independent sources, including Reuters and other news outlets, stating that Vodacom and Makate reached an out-of-court settlement in November 2025 after a legal battle lasting approximately two decades.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Wendy Hughes (born 28 February 1968), formerly known as Wendy Hughes-Madondo, is a South African judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal. Formerly an attorney in private practice, she was a judge of the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Hughes_(judge)
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Alan Knott-Craig (Sr) (born 8 May 1952, Oudtshoorn, South Africa) is a retired South African former CEO of Vodacom (1996 - 2008) and Cell C (2012 - 2014).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Knott-Craig
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Vodacom Group Limited is a South African mobile communications company, providing voice, messaging, data and converged services to over 130 million customers across Africa. From its roots in South Afr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vodacom
+ 4 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 3: “He claims Makate entered into a binding contract 15 years ago.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources report that Elsdon/Black Rock Mining claims Makate entered into a binding contract approximately 15 years ago (referenced as a deal dated to 2011).
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Money claim. Elsdon’s company, Black Rock Mining, has approached the Johannesburg High Court, insisting Makate entered into a binding contract 15 years ago.
https://www.citizen.co.za/news/please-call-me-inventor-launc…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The dispute earlier went to arbitration, where the claim was dismissed. The company’s director, Errol Elsdon from the UK, claims a company he was also a director of — Raining Men Trade (RMT), which no…
https://www.sundaytimes.timeslive.co.za/news/2025-11-15-disg…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — He claims Makate entered into a binding contract 15 years ago. In response, Makate has hauled Black Rock Mining to the Pretoria high court in a bid to have its claim of entitlement dismissed due to mi…
https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/2026-06-07-nkosana-makate-gun…
check_circle
Claim 4: ““Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate seeks to privately prosecute a British investor who is claiming 40% of his multimillion-rand settlement with Vodacom.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources (Daily Dispatch, and other news reports) confirm that Nkosana Makate is seeking to privately prosecute Errol Elsdon, who is claiming 40% of the Vodacom settlement.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Vodacom Group Limited is a South African mobile communications company, providing voice, messaging, data and converged services to over 130 million customers across Africa. From its roots in South Afr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vodacom
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — “Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate seeks to privately prosecute a British investor who is claiming 40% of his multimillion-rand settlement with Vodacom.
https://www.dailydispatch.co.za/news/2026-06-07-makate-guns-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — British investor Errol Elsdon, who wants 40% of “Please Call Me inventor” Nkosanna Makate’s payout from Vodacom, says he has instructed his attorneys to institute defamation proceedings against Makate…
https://www.businessday.co.za/news/2026-06-17-investor-wants…
+ 1 more evidence source
check_circle
Claim 5: “Errol Elsdon’s company, Black Rock Mining, has gone to the Johannesburg high court seeking a share of the settlement.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that Errol Elsdon's company, Black Rock Mining, approached the Gauteng/Johannesburg High Court seeking a share of the payout, although the urgent application was dismissed.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Nkosana Makate reached a settlement with Vodacom over the Please Call Me feature.Black Rock Mining's urgent request to keep some of Nkosana Kenneth Makate's Vodacom payout was denied by the Gauteng Hi…
https://iol.co.za/news/crime-and-courts/please-call-me-battl…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Investor Errol Elsdon’s decade-long dispute claiming entitlement to 40% of Nkosana Makate’s multimillion-rand payout from Vodacom could drag on for longer before reaching finality after the South Gaut…
https://www.businessday.co.za/news/law/2025-12-08-makate-win…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Errol Elsdon, representing Black Rock Mining, accused Makate of reneging on a deal dated to 2011.Makate took Vodacom to court for his Please-Call-Me invention, which Vodacom adopted in the early 2000s…
https://briefly.co.za/south-africa/230648-gauteng-court-dism…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.