Nepal’s ex-PM arrested over alleged role in protest crackdown

2026-03-28 - 07:45

Nepal’s former prime minister KP Sharma Oli and ex-home minister Ramesh Lekhak were arrested Saturday morning over their alleged involvement in a deadly crackdown on protestors in September, police said. “They were arrested this morning and the process will move forward according to the law,” Kathmandu Valley police spokesman Om Adhikari told AFP. The detentions come a day after Prime Minister Balendra Shah and his cabinet were sworn in after the first elections since the 2025 uprising that toppled Oli’s government. At least 77 people were killed in the anti-corruption youth uprising on September 8 and 9, which began over a brief social media ban, but tapped into longstanding fury over economic hardship. At least 19 young people were killed in a crackdown on the first day of protests. The unrest spread nationwide the following day as parliament and government offices were set ablaze, resulting in the government’s collapse. A Nepal government-backed report into the deadly uprising has recommended the prosecution of 74-year-old Oli and other officials. The report said that it was “not established that there was an order to shoot”, but said that “no effort was made to stop or control the firing and, due to their negligent conduct, even minors lost their lives”. “No one is above the law... This is not revenge against anyone, just the beginning of justice. I believe, now the country will take a new direction,” newly appointed Home Minister Sudan Gurung, who was a key figure in the protests, posted on Instagram. AFP