Nepal Police Arrest Former PM Sharma Oli Over Deadly 2025 'Gen Z' Crackdown

Nepalese police arrested former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli at his residence on the outskirts of Kathmandu early Saturday, March 28, 2026, in connection with the deaths of 76 people during youth-led protests in September 2025 that toppled his government. Authorities simultaneously detained former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, who has been accused of ordering security forces to fire on demonstrators. Several trucks of police officers in riot gear carried out the arrests before taking both men to the Kathmandu District Police Office. Police spokesperson Om Adhikari confirmed the detentions, stating both men would be brought before a court on Sunday, a working day in Nepal. The arrests came one day after Balendra Shah, a former rapper and former mayor of Kathmandu, was sworn in as prime minister following his Rastriya Swatantra Party landslide victory in the March 5 parliamentary elections. Oli, 74, who has undergone two kidney transplants, was later transferred from police headquarters to a hospital, according to witnesses.

New home minister calls arrests "the beginning of justice" Current Home Minister Sudan Gurung announced the arrests on social media, framing them as a fulfillment of a campaign promise rather than political retribution. „No one is above the law. We have taken former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and former home minister Ramesh Lekhak under control. This is not revenge against anyone, it is just the beginning of justice.” — Sudan Gurung via AP Gurung, described by RTS as a major figure in the September protests himself, separately wrote on Facebook that "a promise is a promise," according to The Himalayan Times as cited by NZZ. An investigative commission established by the government released its report last week and recommended criminal proceedings against Oli, Lekhak, and the police chief who served during the unrest. The commission called for punishment of up to 10 (years in prison) — maximum sentence recommended for Oli, Lekhak, and former police chief for failing to prevent the crackdown. The panel found Oli responsible for taking no action to stop hours of gunfire that killed at least 19 protesters on the first day of demonstrations alone. The commission acknowledged it could not establish whether a formal order to open fire had been given, but concluded that no effort was made to stop or control the shooting. Oli's lawyer, Tikaram Bhattarai, told Reuters the arrest was unjustified, arguing there was no risk his client would flee or evade hearings.

Gen Z uprising killed 76, burned parliament, and ended Oli's government The protests that led to these arrests erupted on September 8 and 9, 2025, when tens of thousands of mostly young Nepalese took to the streets across the country. The demonstrations were triggered in part by a government-imposed block on social media platforms, which drove Generation Z activists into the streets alongside broader grievances over corruption and poor governance. At least 19 protesters were killed by gunfire in Kathmandu on the first day alone. Angry mobs subsequently burned down the offices of the prime minister and president, police stations, and the homes of top politicians, who were forced to flee on army helicopters. Parliament was also destroyed, set on fire, or looted on September 9. Calm returned only after the army was deployed. Oli resigned on September 9, 2025, stating in his resignation letter that he hoped his departure would help "move toward a political solution and the resolution of problems." The protests were described as the deadliest in Nepal since the end of the country's civil war in 2006. The unrest left 76 (people killed) — total deaths during two days of September 2025 protests and more than 2,300 injured, according to AP, while an inquiry commission cited by RTS put the death toll at 77 and the injured at over 2,400. The demonstrations forced the September 12 appointment of Sushila Karki, a retired Supreme Court judge, as Nepal's first female prime minister, who served during the transition period leading up to the March 2026 elections.

Nepal: From Gen Z protests to arrests: — ; — ; — ; — ; — ; —

Shah's rise from rapper to prime minister reshapes Nepali politics Balendra Shah, 35, took office on Friday, March 27, 2026, capping a remarkable political ascent from rapper to mayor of Kathmandu to head of government. His RSP won an absolute majority in the legislative elections, the first held since the September 2025 uprising. Oli, meanwhile, had stood again as a candidate in the March elections representing the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), but his party was swept aside in the RSP's landslide. Oli's political career spanned almost six decades, and he served as prime minister on multiple occasions since 2015, according to RTS. The anger generated by the September deaths was cited by multiple sources as a direct factor in the scale of the RSP's electoral victory. Shah and Gurung had both promised justice for those killed and wounded during the protests, and the arrests of Oli and Lekhak on the morning after Shah's swearing-in represented the new government's first concrete action on that pledge. Both men are expected to appear before a Kathmandu court on Sunday.