SWIMMING UPSTREAM: Roland Schoeman
Image: File
ROLAND Schoeman and Robert Marawa were locked in a heated battle over South African politics.
Schoeman, a four-time Olympian swimmer for SA, found himself swimmer against the current when took to X to defend a post by platform owner, Pretoria-born billionaire Elon Musk.
On Friday, Musk tweeted: “Starlink is not allowed to operate in South Africa, because I’m not black.”
Musk appeared to be taking a swipe at local Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) rules that foreign-owned telecommunications licensees sell 30 percent of the equity in their local subsidiaries to historically disadvantaged groups.
South African technology news website TechCentral has reported that Starlink’s parent company SpaceX wrote to telecommunications regulator ICASA telling it that it should rethink the 30 percent ownership requirement for licensees.
The tweet sparked a debate, with mense using his eie X-embedded Grok AI claiming his statement was false, saying: “Based on available reports, analyses, and sentiment on X as of March 07, 2025, Elon Musk is frequently identified as one of the most significant spreaders of misinformation on the platform.”
Maar Schoeman took the baton and dived in for Elon, subtweeting: “Look at the comments and you’ll see all the deniers and supporters of racist policies.”
Marawa then also made a splash, adding: “Kindly post a video of you SINGING the entire SA anthem Sir.”
“If it wasn't for democracy and inclusivity, u'd NEVER have smelt an Olympic medal. Which South Africa did u represent??
MIC'ED UP: Robert Marawa
Image: Supplied/PR
Schoeman then hit back with: Robert, I represented South Africa, the whole country, not just the parts you choose to acknowledge.
“My medals weren’t handed to me out of ‘inclusivity’; they were earned through decades of sacrifice, discipline, and world-class performance. If democracy meant handing out Olympic medals for free, you’d have one too. But it doesn’t work that way, does it?
“Robert, the irony is pretty hilarious. You claim I owe my success to democracy, yet your own career was built on media transformation policies under the ANC.
“If I didn’t ‘earn’ my achievements, then by your logic, neither did you bud. However you don’t question your own path, just mine and other white people.
“More importantly, talent and hard work create success, not politics. Even if South Africa had been banned, I secured a US scholarship through my ability. My success was inevitable because I put in the work.
“That’s the difference, I proved myself in competition; you argue on Twitter.”