The Please Call Me Millions: Who Paid? | ITWeb Tech Headlines 21 – 26 September 2026
These are the stories making headlines on ITWeb this week. An ITWeb investigation into the Please Call Me saga asks who paid for inventor Nkosana Makate's decade-long legal battle, with advocates potentially costing up to R145 000 a day, as Black Rock Mining's Errol Elsdon claims 40% of Makate's settlement with Vodacom.
Five different amounts, cited across hundreds of pages, are at the heart of the dispute over who actually funded Please Call Me inventor Nkosana Makate’s fight against Vodacom.
Tracker Becomes a Techco | ITWeb Tech Headlines | 15 – 19 September 2026
These are the stories making headlines on ITWeb this week. Tracker is evolving from a vehicle recovery service into a full technology company, with CEO Dillan Fernando telling ITWeb TV that it now serves more than one million customers and processes 200 million data points a day, using AI to deliver insights for fleets.
Errol Elsdon offered a stake in a separate court case as security for funding Nkosana Makate’s Please Call Me battle, but the trust says he had no agreement with it.
The mystery funder behind Nkosana Makate’s early legal fight: two decades of litigation funding, bitter court battles and the scandal-hit Living Hands trust.
Errol Elsdon, who claims he is entitled to 40% of Nkosana Makate’s ‘winnings’, vanished from the Please Call Me story for years, then reappeared as the face of a company few can verify exists.
Vodacom says the data behind Please Call Me’s success never existed, though its own documents show revenue tracking was discussed and dropped.
Cell C's R12.6bn Turnaround | ITWeb Tech Headlines | 17-22 August 2026
These are the stories making headlines on ITWeb this week. Cell C added 1.3 million subscribers and cut net debt by 64% in its first full year as a JSE-listed company, with group revenue climbing to R12.64 billion. Meanwhile, Standard Bank is shifting from just using AI tools to becoming a fully AI-enabled organisation, with more than 39 000 staff, 72% of its workforce, now active generative AI users.
Raining Men has been in business rescue since 2019, but the man who stepped into the shoes of its directors has a troubled history.
Court papers show how Nkosana Makate’s early funders turned against each other, trading conspiracy claims and alleging a hidden romance over who gets a cut.
A deregistered company, a forged signature and a shelf-company swap – how Black Rock Mining’s rights to millions became a ghost claim.
From London funders, to Bermuda shell entities and a struck-off Singapore company – ITWeb unpacks the offshore web behind Black Rock's claim.
The free callback service that became a popular feature – and the subject of an almost two-decade legal battle.
Before a debarred advocate rewrote his legal strategy in 2011, Nkosana Makate was broke, lawyer-less and fighting a case deemed beyond saving.
From a disbarred advocate, to offshore funds and Cyprus shell companies, ITWeb unpacks the people behind the Please Call Me litigation.