Nepal PM Oli Ousted by 'Gen Z' Protests Over Corruption, Jobs

A curfew has been imposed in Kathmandu after two days of deadly anti-graft protests that forced Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to step down.

Soldiers were patrolling the streets of Nepal’s capital on Wednesday after the worst upheaval in decades in the poor Himalayan nation – sparked by a social media ban that was enforced last week, but rolled back after 19 people died on Monday, as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to control crowds.

The move to ban major social media platforms such as Facebook last week, after citing a tide of ‘fake news’, was seen by activists and young citizens as an attempt to silence their growing online anti-corruption movement.

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Stung into action, they turned to still-accessible apps such as Viber and TikTok to rally thousands, sparking protests that left at least 19 protesters dead and ultimately forced Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli from office on Tuesday.

Riots mirrored Bangladeshi overthrow

Their success came 13 months after similar youth-led protests in nearby Bangladesh forced out Sheikh Hasina, who had been prime minister since 2009.

Sandip, a social media influencer who uses one name, said he had made several online appeals, some using virtual private networks to evade the ban, but had not expected so many to pour into the streets in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu and elsewhere.

“Every single citizen of Nepal was done with the corrupt government of Nepal,” said the 31-year-old, based in the Lalitpur district near the capital.

“The anger against this government had been brewing for many months, but the call for this protest was very spontaneous.”

Graft, inequality, lack of jobs

Transparency International ranks Nepal 107th out of 180 countries in its Corruption Perceptions Index, highlighting persistent governance challenges. Young activists said frustration with inequality and a lack of job opportunities also played a part.

Over 20% of Nepal’s 30 million people live in poverty, according to the World Bank, while unemployment among those aged 15–24 stood at more than 22% in 2022-23.

The richest 10% earn more than three times the income of the poorest 40%, underscoring stark economic divides.

Gaurav Nepune, a 34-year-old from Kathmandu who led some of the protests, said young people had been running an online campaign for three months to contrast the lives lived by ministers and their families with those of ordinary people.

“The youth are against corruption but the government resorted to violence, trying to silence the movement,” said Nepune.

“We have been continuously urging our people not to indulge in any violence or arson. We now want a government that thinks independently, is corruption-free and does not play into the hands of any neighbours,” he said. India and China are widely seen as jostling for influence in Nepal.

Last year’s protests in Bangladesh ushered in an interim government, with some students in de facto ministerial positions under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who later revealed spectacular levels of corruption under Sheikh Hasina.

Parliament destroyed

Burnt-out vehicles and twisted metal littered the area around the parliament in Kathmandu, where army firefighters battled to douse a blaze in the main hall, while the building’s exterior was charred after protesters set it ablaze on Tuesday.

“I have been informed by the (parliament) security chief that the fire has destroyed the entire infrastructure. Nothing is left,” Ekram Giri, spokesperson for the lower house of parliament, told Reuters from his home in Kathmandu.

Several other government buildings, from the Supreme Court to ministers’ homes, including Oli’s private residence, were also set ablaze in Tuesday’s protests, with the unrest subsiding only after the resignation.

Flights were disrupted, with the main airport in Kathmandu shut until 6pm (1215 GMT), an airport spokesperson said.

Armoured vehicles kept vigil in streets that were largely deserted, with shops and markets shut. Firefighters were engaged at different locations, while the process of clearing roads was also underway, army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet said.

“We are trying to normalise the situation first. We are committed to protect the life and property of people,” Basnet said, adding that prisoners had set Kathmandu’s Dilli Bazar Jail on fire before the army controlled the situation.

Victims include former PM’s wife

One of the victims of Tuesday’s mayhem was former Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal’s wife Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar, who died after their house was set on fire, reports in Nepal and India said on Tuesday.

Nepali media outlet Khabarhub said the incident occurred outside the former PM and his wife’s residence in Dallu. Protesters reportedly trapped Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar and set the house on fire.

India’s Mint news site said Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar was rescued from the blaze later and rushed to Kirtipur Burn Hospital in a critical condition. But she succumbed to her injuries during treatment, it said, citing the Khabarhub report that quoted family sources.

Most Indian news outlets reported Chitrakar’s death, but there was no official confirmation or news about the cause.

Push for Kathmandu mayor to enter politics

In Nepal, one of the protesters’ popular choices to replace Oli is 35-year-old Balendra Shah, a former rapper and composer who became mayor of Kathmandu since 2022 after a campaign to clean up the city’s streets and waterways.

“Dear @ShahBalen, we’re eagerly waiting your leadership in Nepalese politics,” wrote Bimal Pokhrel in response to a post on X by Shah. “You are the last hope for our nation. Please … step forward to take the leadership as prime minister to guide Nepal toward a brighter future.”

After the protest deaths on Monday, Shah called Oli a “terrorist” who did not understand the “pain of losing a son or daughter”.

On Tuesday, after Oli’s resignation, he urged his nearly 784,000 followers on Instagram to remain calm.

“Dear Gen Z, the resignation of your harassers in politics has already come! Now please be patient,” he wrote. “You and we now need to be restrained! Now your generation will have to lead the country! Be prepared!”