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The President is the head of state and the head of government in most countries in Africa and other parts of the world.
Presidents serve for a specific term limit, which varies depending on a country’s constitution and political system.
Presidential term limits range between 4 years for countries like Nigeria and 7 years for countries like Cameroon.
However, some countries have unlimited term limits due to constitutional reforms or authoritarian regimes.
Many presidents enjoy their retirements or international accolades, but others face a different fate.
Some former heads of state have been tried, convicted, and jailed for different crimes, serving as an example to those who are still in power.
1. Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor served as the President of Liberia from August 2, 1997, to August 11, 2003.
He was sentenced to 50 years in prison in April 2012 over his support for rebels who committed atrocities in Sierra Leone.
Judges at the Hague upheld the 50-year jail sentence in September 2013.
2. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz
Aziz served as the President of Mauritania from August 5, 2009, to August 1, 2019.
He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in May 2025 for abuse of office and illicit enrichment.
Aziz had been in custody since his original trial began in January 2023.
He had appealed his original five-year sentence after his conviction of using his power to amass a fortune.
3. Jacob Zuma, South Africa
Jacob Zuma served as the president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018.
In June 2021, he was convicted of contempt of court for his failure to comply with a court order compelling his testimony before the Zondo Commission.
He was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment and was arrested on July 7, 2021, in Estcourt, KwaZulu-Natal.
However, he was released on medical parole two months later, on September 5.
Two Other Jailed Presidents in Africa
- Pasteur Bizimungu
Pasteur Bizimungu served as the President of Rwanda from July 19, 1994 to March 23, 2000.
In June 2004, Bizimungu was sentenced to 15 years in prison for inciting civil disobedience, embezzling state funds, and forming a militia group.
He was, however, freed after a presidential pardon in August 2007.
- Canaan Banana
Canaan Banana served as the first President of Zimbabwe from December 18, 1980, to December 31, 1987.
He was jailed for a year after Zimbabwe’s supreme court upheld his conviction for sodomy in May 2000.
Also Read: List of African Presidents Who Were Assassinated
South Korea’s Presidents Jailed
1. Park Geun-hye
Park Geun-hye is the daughter of Park Chung-Hee, who was president of South Korea until his assassination in 1979.
She took over as President in February 2013 and remained in office until March 2017, when she was impeached.
Park’s administration was accused of threatening many large companies with the imposition of audits if they did not donate to two charitable foundations.
It was later revealed that the foundations were connected to Choi Soon-Sil, a close friend of Park’s.
On April 6, 2018, Park was sentenced to 24 years in jail for corruption.
She was released on December 31, 2025, after President Moon Jae-in’s special pardon.
2. Lee Myung‑bak
Lee served as president of South Korea between 2008 and 2013.
He was convicted of bribery and embezzlement in 2018.
In October 2020, South Korea’s Supreme Court sentenced Lee to 17 years in prison.
Lee, however, received a presidential pardon in December 2022, cutting short his sentence.
Also Read: List of African Women Who Have Served as Presidents
Israeli President and Prime Minister
- Moshe Katsav
Moshe Katsav served as Israel’s President from 2000 to 2007.
He was convicted in December 2010 of raping an aide while he was a cabinet minister in the 1990s.
He was also charged with sexually harassing two other women during his time as head of state.
Katsav was jailed in 2011 and released in December 2016 after serving his sentence.
- Ehud Olmert
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was also jailed in 2016 after being convicted of bribery and obstruction of justice while a trade minister.
He was released from prison in July 2017 on parole after serving two-thirds of a 27-month sentence for fraud.
Olmert became prime minister in March 2006 but resigned in 2008.
France & Brazil
- Jacques Chirac
Chirac served as French President from 1995 to 2007 and was tried on charges of channelling public money into phantom jobs for political cronies when he was mayor of Paris between 1977 and 1995.
In 2011, Chirac was given a two-year suspended prison sentence even though he was excused from much of the proceedings on the grounds of a failing memory.
Chirac could have been sent to jail for 10 years, the maximum sentence for the charges against him.
- Fernando Collor
Brazil’s former President Fernando Collor was arrested in April 2025 to start serving his sentence.
Collor, who led the country from 1990 to 1992, was jailed for eight years and 10 months after he was convicted of corruption in 2023.
He was to serve his sentence in prison, but was granted house arrest on May 3, just six days after beginning to serve his prison sentence in the Baldomero Cavalcanti Penitentiary in Maceió.
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