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Nepal’s ex-prime minister, KP Sharma Oli, was detained on Saturday as authorities look into allegations that he may have been negligent in the deadly crackdown on Generation Z-led anti-corruption protests last September, according to officials. His arrest, which his legal team claims was unlawful and led to protests where supporters clashed with police, came shortly after rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah was sworn in as prime minister on Friday. A committee investigating the violence recommended prosecuting Oli for negligence.
Also taken into custody was Ramesh Lekhak, Oli’s former home minister. Last September, police responses to the protests resulted in 76 deaths, along with arson and unrest that ultimately forced Oli’s resignation.
Following his arrest, supporters gathered in protest rallies, confronting police officers attempting to prevent them from burning tires near the prime minister’s office. Authorities responded with tear gas and baton charges, resulting in injuries to at least one person, witnesses reported.
Nepal’s Communist Party (Unified Marxist-Leninist), which Oli leads, condemned the arrest as illegal and a act of revenge. The party demanded an immediate release and announced plans for further protests scheduled for Sunday. Party official Shankar Pokhrel indicated that protest notices would be submitted across all 77 districts nationwide.
Home Minister Sudan Gurung defended the move on social media, asserting, “This is the start of justice. The country is heading in a new direction.”
Oli has served as prime minister four times between 2015 and 2025, but never completed a full five-year term. In 2020, he issued a new political map that included a small disputed territory controlled by India, which boosted his popularity temporarily. However, his support waned, and he lost his seat in an election held earlier this month to Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party, amid widespread anger over the September protests’ deaths.
An investigative panel found Oli and Lekhak responsible for failing to halt police firing during the protests. Police spokesperson Om Adhikari confirmed that Oli and Lekhak would appear in court on Sunday. Witnesses reported that Oli, aged 74 and a recipient of two kidney transplants, was taken from the police station to a hospital.
Oli’s lawyer, Tikaram Bhattarai, described his client’s arrest as unwarranted and vowed to challenge it in the Supreme Court. “They say it’s for investigation purposes, but it’s illegal and unjustified because there’s no risk of him fleeing or avoiding questioning,” he stated. Efforts to reach Lekhak and his legal team for comments were unsuccessful.
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