DOMINANT ANGLE
Pretoria draws a lesson of dependence from the Starlink affair: between the "betrayal" of Ukraine denounced by TimesLIVE and the partial restoration reported by SABC News, the South African press mainly sees the risk of entrusting an infrastructure to Elon Musk.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
According to the Wall Street Journal, as reported by SABC News, Donald Trump called Elon Musk to ask him to lift the restrictions on Starlink in Ukraine.
- 02
The Ukrainian case is fueling the debate over Starlink: US Ambassador Brent Bozell considers the blockade related to BBBEE "absurd", according to The Common Sense.
- 03
Tom Eaton (TimesLIVE) estimates that Musk's offer would represent about two to three hours of his companies' revenue, valued at around $120 billion per year.
ANALYSIS
Pretoria, October 23, 2026. In South Africa, the Starlink-Ukraine episode is first viewed through the local question: should Elon Musk be allowed to deploy his satellites in the country? SABC News, the public broadcaster, reports the facts in a sober manner. According to the Wall Street Journal, which cites American officials, Donald Trump called Elon Musk and asked him to lift the restrictions on Ukraine's use of Starlink. The system was functioning "more normally" on Thursday, shortly after this exchange, according to American and Ukrainian officials cited by the American daily.
The media also recalls the reaction of Volodymyr Zelensky the previous week. The Ukrainian president had lamented "difficulties" with Starlink and intelligence, citing "unexpected surprises" while Kiev is counting on a "true partnership" with the United States: "We want to be very honest, very clear and be strong partners." The dispatch does not mention the subsequent Ukrainian denials about the speed of the service.
The tone changes significantly in Tom Eaton's column, published by TimesLIVE on October 23 under the title "Common sense would tell you that Starlink is a Trojan horse." The editorialist starts with a South African debate: American Ambassador Brent Bozell and local conservatives lament that the government continues to keep Starlink out of the country. On Wednesday, Bozell stated on The Common Sense website that Musk was offering to provide free internet to schools, but that the BBBEE economic redistribution legislation was blocking this "humanitarian donation", an "absurd" situation according to him.
Eaton notes that the figures vary: 5,000 rural schools according to The Common Sense, 500 according to the ambassador. He reports that Musk's companies rake in around $120 billion per year, and that the offer would represent two or three hours of revenue. He admits that one can judge the BBBEE as "generally sensible but very poorly applied", without this changing his verdict.
For him, after what he calls the "betrayal of Ukraine by the trillionaire this week", even Musk's admirers should measure what it means to collaborate with him. The message is clear: dependence on a private network under the decision of one man is a political risk, which Kiev is experiencing in wartime conditions and which Pretoria prefers not to impose on itself.
