This past weekend, I rewatched ReMastered: The Lion’s Share, the heartbreaking 2019 documentary about Solomon Linda, the Zulu musician who composed Mbube (later The Lion Sleeps Tonight) in 1939. The documentary chronicles South African journalist Riaan Malan’s efforts to help Linda’s family secure fair compensation.

When Linda died in 1962, he had just $25 in his bank account, while those who appropriated his music and culture continued to smile all the way to their banks.

It took decades of global legal battles before Linda’s three daughters each received about $250,000 (R4.8m) from a settlement that expired in 2017 — a paltry sum compared to earnings from their father’s song.

“The whole case seemed to be infused with huge symbolic significance for South Africans, for a nation that had been on the losing side of history for such a long time,” Malan observed.

A similar historical injustice has reared its ugly head today in the matter of Nkosana Makate’s battle for fair compensation for his Please Call Me (PCM) invention.

Makate has been involved in a 25-year battle against Vodacom which remains unresolved. For more than 9,131 days — almost a quarter of a century — Makate has fought for fair compensation from the telecom giant that profited billions from his idea.

Despite multiple court victories, justice remains elusive. In 2016, the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously that Vodacom must compensate him. Earlier last year, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) reaffirmed his right to 5% of PCM revenue for 18 years — a figure Vodacom once acknowledged in court papers.

Yet after nine court losses, Vodacom continues engaging in legal manoeuvres while Makate waits.

To Makate, I say when the battle feels too heavy to carry on remember the words of author Richelle E Goodrich: “You may be the only person left who believes in you, but it’s enough. It takes just one star to pierce a universe of darkness. Never give up.”

• Lourie is founder and editor of Tech Financials