Ana da Silva Miguel, also known as Neth Nahara, a renowned social media influencer in Angola, has had her prison term doubled to two years for “insulting” President Joo Lourenço on TikTok.
In August, she was sentenced to six months in prison, but an appeals court ruled that the earlier term was too light and increased it to two years.
On her TikTok account, Ms. Miguel accused the president of “anarchy and disorganization,” and blamed him for difficulties such as a shortage of schools, homes, and work in the country.
Last August, President Lourenço was re-elected for a second term, extending the MPLA party’s long-standing leadership. Since Angola’s independence in 1975, the party has faced charges of leading an oppressive regime.
Ms. Miguel’s insulting statements against the president, as well as her enormous effect on public opinion, were cited as causes for the stiffer sentence by the appeals court in Luanda.
Despite her request for leniency as a first-time offender and mother of small children who regretted her comments, the court denied her motion and sentenced her to pay President Lourenço $1,200 (£1,000) in restitution for “damage” to his reputation.
According to her lawyer, Ms. Miguel, who has over 230,000 TikTok followers and thousands of views on her videos, is the first person in Angola to be prosecuted for TikTok content.
The decision is decisive because appeals to the Supreme Court are only permissible for sentences of more than three years.
