High Court dismisses Black Rock bid to freeze Makate payout
The Johannesburg High Court has dismissed an urgent application by Black Rock Mining and its investor, Errol Elsdon to place 40% of Nkosana Makate’s payout from Vodacom into a trust, ahead of a contractual dispute over entitlement.
Acting Judge Don Mahon ruled that Black Rock had not provided evidence that Makate intended to “dissipate” the funds a key requirement for urgent interim relief. The judge held that ordinary financial behaviour, such as spending or investing the money, did not amount to dissipation in the legal sense.
The roots of the dispute lie in a 2011 agreement in which Black Rock allegedly funded Makate’s long legal battle against Vodacom over his “Please Call Me” idea in return for 40% of any settlement.
Makate’s team argues the company largely stopped funding the litigation after 2014 and that the agreement was terminated in 2015.
Though the settlement between Makate and Vodacom reportedly worth hundreds of millions of rands has now been released, the matter is far from over, the question of whether Black Rock is contractually entitled to a share will proceed to arbitration.
The ruling clears the way for Makate to access the funds immediately a major win for him after nearly two decades of litigation while preserving Black Rock’s opportunity to press its claim through non-urgent legal channels.