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A social media influencer in Angola has been slapped with a two-year prison sentence for using words considered to be defamatory in a TikTok post against President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço.
Ana da Silva Miguel, known better as Neth Nahara took to her TikTok page to call out the Angolan President, accusing him of “anarchy and disorganization”.
She also bemoaned the many woes of the oil-rich country including poor housing and inadequate jobs and schools under the current administration.
State authorities found her words offensive, resulting in an initial six-month prison term.
The sentence was increased to two years after an appeals court decided that it was too lenient, claiming she could influence public opinion with her over 230,000 followers.
Her request for leniency, on the grounds of being a first-time offender and a mother, was rejected by the court. She was additionally instructed to compensate President Lourenço with $1,200 for causing damage to his reputation.
President Lourenço was re-elected for a second tenure last year in a fierce election, extending the reign of the ruling MPLA party which has clung to power since the country’s independence in 1975.
The regime and party have been accused of being repressive on countless occasions, marked by suspicious killings, protests, and unjustified sackings.
Ms. Silva’s conviction as an influencer accused of having offended the President on TikTok is the first of its kind.
