Angolan Tiktoker sentenced to two years in prison for insulting president

A social media influencer in Angola has had her prison sentence increased to two years for “insulting” President João Lourenço on TikTok.

Ana da Silva Miguel, popularly known as Neth Nahara, was initially sentenced by a court to six months in August. However, an appeals court ruled that the sentence was too lenient and raised it to two years.

Local media reported that Ms Miguel accused the president of “anarchy and disorganisation” on her TikTok account. She also blamed the president for the lack of schools, housing and employment in the oil-rich southern African state.

President Lourenço was re-elected for a second term in August last year in a closely fought election that extended the ruling MPLA party’s decades-long dominance.

It has been in power since independence in 1975 and is accused of leading a repressive regime.

The appeals court in the capital, Luanda, said that Ms Miguel had used offensive words against the president, and the fact that she could influence public opinion made her conduct “more objectionable”.

She had pleaded for leniency because she was a first-time offender and a mother of young children, and she regretted her remarks.

But the court dismissed her plea and ordered her to pay President Lourenço $1,200 (£1,000) for the “damage” caused to his reputation.

Judge Salomão Raimundo Kulanda described the president as “sovereign”, and said the TikToker was aware of this.

Ms Miguel has over 230,000 followers on TikTok, and her videos attract thousands of views.

Her lawyer told Portuguese news outlet Lusa that this was the first time a person had been convicted in Angola for something they had posted on TikTok.

The lawyer added that the ruling was final. An appeal to the Supreme Court could not be made for a sentence under three years.

The state prosecutor had asked for a harsher punishment, saying the initial six-month sentence was too “benevolent” and that Ms Miguel would likely put similar social media posts again.

Angola is one of Africa’s biggest oil exporters, but most people live in poverty. Protests over the rising cost of living have recently hit it.

According to a political analyst, Albino Pakissi, “things have deteriorated..seems to be acting like he did five years ago.” This is about Pakissi’s review of the first year of President João Lourenço.

In August, the campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the security forces of unlawfully killing at least 15 people, mostly government critics, since the beginning of the year.

In June, President Lourenço sacked the economic minister following deadly protests over a reduction in a fuel subsidy, which led to a spike in prices.