Angola: 38 journalists targeted by over 200 defamation investigations ahead of 2027 presidential election

Thirty-eight Angolan journalists interviewed by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have been the subject of more than 200 criminal investigations for defamation since 2015, according to an investigation published on October 8, 2026, and reported by AllAfrica. Thirty-one of these proceedings are still open, six resulted in an acquittal or dismissal, and only one journalist, Carlos Alberto, has actually served a prison sentence in the last decade.

Individual figures give the measure of the phenomenon: journalist William Tonet claims to have exceeded one hundred investigations in his name, and Escrivão José has faced 32 in sixteen years, the CPJ reports. Two of the thirty-eight people interviewed refused to have their testimony published for fear of reprisals. There are no official statistics: the spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office indicates that data is not broken down by profession.

A judicial machine without a statute of limitations

In Angola, defamation remains a criminal offense and it is the State that brings the charge, rather than a civil court or a media regulator. Journalists face up to eighteen months in prison. Crucially, no statute of limitations limits the opening of an investigation, whereas most countries allow for one to three years. The majority of those accused have the status of "arguido," or formal suspect, which restricts their movement.

The case of Daniel Frederico illustrates this mechanism. He fled Angola in 2025 for fear of prison over an article he did not write. On October 2, 2026, he was sentenced in absentia to fourteen months in prison for a 2022 report published by another media outlet, according to the CPJ; his lawyer, Antonio Martins, has announced an appeal. Frederico and his site's administrator are also the subject of a new investigation for a five-year-old text criticizing the Minister of Transport, Ricardo Abreu. In September 2026, two journalists from Factos Diários were also held for a day at a Criminal Investigation Service police station.

The electoral calendar in the background

Angolans will elect a new president in 2027, as João Lourenço cannot run for a third term. Daniel Frederico sees this as the reason for the intensification: "They want to instill fear," he told the CPJ regarding the authorities. The former head of the Angolan Journalists' Union, Teixeira Cândido, describes criminal defamation as "a tool used by those who hold power" and believes that Luanda does not want to reform. The prosecutor's office defends its practice: "It is a matter of criminal policy," replies its representative Marty Kanando, explaining that it has no choice but to investigate. The complainants are not only public officials: DP World, the Angolan Commercial Bank, and the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God are among them.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights recommends replacing criminal sanctions with civil remedies. Eleven African countries have already abolished criminal defamation, including The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi in 2025, and Uganda in 2026. Two, however, have reintroduced it through the back door, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe, via cybercrime and data protection laws. Frederico points to articles 40 and 44 of the Angolan Constitution, which guarantee freedom of the press and expression.