Angola’s new laws alarm rights activists over civil liberties

Rights watchdogs are raising alarm after Angola passed two key laws designed to prevent public anarchy, but which are also seen as restricting on civil liberties.

President Joao Lourenço last week assented to law two Bills, one criminalising vandalism of public goods and services and the other on national security.

Both laws provide for prison terms of up to 25 years for people who take part in protests that result in vandalism and disruption of services, and allow for excessive government control over the media, civil society organisations and other private institutions if national security is threatened.

But activists say the laws are unnecessary because existing legal frameworks already deal with this.

“Civil society is weakened by the passing of the Bills,” Francisco Fingo of ACC, a local NGO, lamented, adding that the democratic game in Angola is getting worse.

José Gama, a political commentator, said President Lourenço had borrowed a leaf from his predecessor José Eduardo dos Santos, whose previous policies he had actually reversed when he came to power.

But Mr Gama said the new laws signalled an administration intent on consolidating its authority rather than fighting to democratise Angola.

President Lourenço had initially eased some restrictions, particulary on the press and civil society, following his election in 2017. The new laws suggest that he has backtracked, according to an assessment by the Freedom House.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says, for instance, that the human rights situation in Cabinda Province has remained poor since Mr Lourenço became President, with many activists being arrested for exercising their fundamental rights.

Freedom House, which ranks Angola as ‘not free’, says local authorities have systematically repressed political dissent. Corruption, violations of due process and abuses by the security forces remain widespread.

Since President Lourenço took office in September 2017, ending four decades of rule by the dos Santos family, rights groups say there has been no turning point for press freedom.

Angola has been ranked 125th and 99th in the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index, indicating that the country has not been stable to allow journalists to independently select, produce, and disseminate news in the public interest.

The southern African country currently ranks 104th out of 180  countries surveyed, down from 125th last year. 

But, while the legal regime may have tightened, the ruling MPLA party has indicated that it will respect the Constitution on term limits, ruling out a third term for Lourenço.

Some voices within his party and in allied civil society groups argue that Lourenço should be given the chance for another term. Angola’s Constitution limits him to two terms in office. He is currently serving his second term.

In order for him to run for a third term, the Constitution would have to be amended, a matter he on which he has not taken a clear stance.

In an interview with Voice of America in 2022, he ruled out a third term in office. But in an interview with France 24 last year, he said he would talk about his future and succession until 2027, when his term expires.  

His predecessor, José Eduardo dos Santos, stayed in power for 38 years.

“It is vital to recognise the democratic setbacks that Angola has suffered,” wrote Adalberto Costa Júnior, the president of opposition party Unita, on his official Facebook page after the Bills were signed into law.

“We must continue to work with civil society, ensuring that it is strengthened to promote democracy by continually sensitising citizens and continuing to denounce the undemocratic practices that the party-state wants to impose in Angola.”

César Laborinho, the country’s Interior minister, said that the laws were aimed at ensuring that everyone participates properly in gatherings and does not use protests for chaos and violence, and that the provisions were necessary for public safety.