Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has claimed a “substance-induced psychotic attack” caused him to tamper with his electronic ankle monitor, leading to his preventive arrest on Saturday, 22 November 2025. The 70-year-old politician, who was under house arrest, told a judge during a custody hearing on Sunday that he hallucinated the device was bugged and used a soldering iron on it. This event marks a critical juncture in the legal saga following his conviction for masterminding a failed coup.

The arrest was ordered by Brazil's Supreme Court after security officials detected the ankle tag had been breached at approximately 12:08 a.m. on Saturday (6:08 a.m. EAT). Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes cited “extremely serious indications of a possible escape attempt” in his arrest warrant. The court's concerns were heightened by a call from Bolsonaro's son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, for supporters to hold a vigil outside the former president's residence, which authorities feared could be a diversion for an escape. Federal police executed the arrest at Bolsonaro's Brasília home around 6:00 a.m. local time (12:00 p.m. EAT) on Saturday.

Coup Conviction and Legal Standing

In September 2025, Brazil's Supreme Court sentenced Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months in prison for his role in orchestrating a coup attempt to stay in power after his 2022 election loss to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The conviction covered multiple charges, including plotting a coup d'état, leading an armed criminal organization, and attempting the violent abolition of democratic rule. Prosecutors detailed a plot that allegedly included plans to assassinate President Lula and Justice de Moraes. Bolsonaro has been under house arrest since August 2025 for violating a ban on using social media.

His legal team has been appealing the conviction and had requested he serve his full sentence under house arrest, citing poor health stemming from a 2018 stabbing. However, Brazilian law typically requires convicts with sentences exceeding eight years to serve time in prison. Following the tampering incident, Justice de Moraes denied the request to remain under house arrest.

Conflicting Explanations and Global Context

During the custody hearing on Sunday, 24 November, Bolsonaro attributed his actions to paranoia induced by a new combination of a powerful analgesic and an antidepressant. He claimed to believe the ankle monitor contained a listening device and stopped tampering with it after “snapping out of it.” This explanation contrasted with an earlier video in which he told a security official he damaged the device out of “curiosity.” His lawyers have since requested a return to “humanitarian house arrest” due to his purported “state of mental confusion.”

The incident has drawn international attention, reflecting broader concerns about the resilience of democratic institutions globally. While there are no direct implications for Kenya, the prosecution of a former head of state in a major developing nation like Brazil offers a significant case study in democratic accountability. The situation highlights the challenges judiciaries face when dealing with populist leaders who command significant public support. Bolsonaro's case is often compared to that of his ally, former U.S. President Donald Trump, who has also faced legal challenges and has called Bolsonaro's trial a “witch hunt.”

Fears of Bolsonaro being a flight risk are not unfounded. In February 2024, he spent two nights at the Hungarian embassy in Brasília shortly after his passport was confiscated by police, an act widely interpreted as a potential attempt to seek asylum. The Supreme Court noted that the former president's residence is a short drive from several foreign embassies. As Bolsonaro remains in a special cell at the federal police headquarters in Brasília, the nation and the world watch to see the final outcome of a case that tests the very foundations of Brazilian democracy. A panel of Supreme Court judges is scheduled to convene on Monday, 25 November, to review the arrest order.