lOn 9 October 2023, the prison sentence of Ana da Silva Miguel, a social media influencer popularly known as Neth Nahara, was increased from six months to two years for “insulting” and “disregarding” the president, after she used her TikTok account to accuse him of promoting anarchy. All these examples show how journalists are being harassed and intimidated for doing their work, through the weaponisation of the law which in turn inhibits their rights and exercise of fundamental freedoms. For example, in its annual report published in January 2024, Human Rights Watch (HRW) highlighted the abuse by police forces, arbitrary detentions, and attacks on press freedom in Angola, and highlighted the “draconian laws” used by the authorities to repress and intimidate journalists. Angolan journalist Liberato Furtado Pereira Journalists, the charges followed an October 28, 2020 complaint by prosecutor Elizete Francisco in connection with a November 2020 report alleging that Francisco used her personal account to collect the equivalent of more than US$25,000 in payments due to the general prosecutor’s office. Conclusion and recommendations This report has shown that in Angola, the constitution guarantees freedom of expression, but there are still challenges regarding its realisation. Francisco filed the complaint one day after Furtado sought her comment on the allegations. lIn October 2023, the editor of news portal Reporter Angola, Daniel Frederico who publishes under the pen name Daniel Jonas Pensador was charged with criminal defamation and insult. In this regard, the government must repeal sedition laws to ensure free speech offline and online. A hostile environment created by censorship is curtailing online freedoms. As such, Angola needs to promote freedom of expression proactively. The charges were linked to a 2022 report published by another news site, Angola Online, on alleged corruption by a prosecutor, Pedro Machado. Considering the 2023 findings, among other issues, the following actions are recommended: lFor the first time since 1997, Angola was mentioned in the CPJ Africa 2023 census on African journalists in jail for doing their work for the arrest and prosecution of journalist Carlos Alberto. Government lRepeal of sedition laws: The government should prioritise the repeal of sedition laws so that the legal and policy framework in the country is aligned with constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression. He was taken into custody on September 29, 2023 to serve a three-year prison sentence for criminal defamation, injurious denunciation, and violating press freedom. These laws pose a significant barrier to free speech both offline and online, stifling dissent and inhibiting the free exchange of ideas. According to CPJ’s review of the ruling along with Alberto’s lawyer Almeida Lucas — the Supreme Court dismissed the journalist’s appeal against a lower court ruling and sentenced him to a suspended three-year prison term, a fine of 3,500 million kwanzas (US$4,240), and was ordered to apologise every 10 days for 60 days. transparency and lPromote accountability: Mechanisms for transparency and accountability within government institutions should be established, particularly concerning media regulation. Transparent processes for media licensing 23 STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA 2023