Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi’s call to stay away from Vodacom-affiliated events has fallen on deaf ears.

Lesufi recently told South Africans to stop using Vodacom products and services in a bid to put pressure on the mobile network to pay Kenneth Makate.

Lesufi made the statement as part of a campaign supporting Makate and his battle with Vodacom over his involvement in the company’s Please Call Me service.

If Vodacom failed to pay Makate an amount he agreed to by 1 February 2019, it would result in all Vodacom products being boycotted.

South Africans would also not attend any Vodacom-sponsored event, added Lesufi.

Soweto Derby sold out

This demand was not heeded by Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates fans today, however, despite Makate and Vodacom not reaching an agreement on the “reasonable compensation” Makate must receive.

Today’s Soweto Derby at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg was sold out. Vodacom sponsors both Chiefs and Pirates, and its branding occupies the primary sponsor slot on both teams’ jerseys.

TimesLive reported that 87,000 fans attended the match today, and that tickets for the event sold out earlier this week.

The capacity crowd watched the teams play to a 1-1 draw.