Buildings were torched and politicians attacked as Gen Z citizens led a massive protest against the Nepal government. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned from his post on Tuesday morning and several lawmakers were evacuated as the agitation escalated. Chaotic scenes emerged from various Nepali cities — with multiple politicians thrashed and their homes set on fire. Protesters also torched the Supreme Court and set parts of the Presidential residence ablaze.
What happened on Tuesday?
Simmering public resentment had boiled over after ousted Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli announced a sweeping social media ban on September 4. A peaceful protest march organised on Monday took a sharply violent turn as the agitators clashed with police in various cities — leaving at least 24 dead and hundreds injured. Matters took a turn for the worse on Tuesday as the protesters retaliated in strength. The resignation of Oli and withdrawal of the social media ban appeared to have little effect as tens of thousands of protesters remained on the streets, storming government facilities and torching the homes of politicians.
Thousands of prison inmates were also released on Tuesday as protestors stormed multiple jails — sparking concerns about public safety and security in the area. Rastriya Swatantra Party chairman Rabi Lamichhane was among the 1500 people who exited Nakkhu jail. He had been detained in judicial custody following his October 2024 arrest for cooperative fraud and organized crime charges.
Victory turns sour
The resignation of KP Sharma Oli was was a bittersweet victory for the Gen Z protestors as their movement spiraled into violence and arson on Tuesday. Multiple social media posts appealed for calm while others stressed the need for a clear plan of action in the coming days. Several posts in Reddit noted that the protestors were now vandalising key national assets — places that would now require extensive rebuilding after the new government took over. Others claimed that the protests had been ‘hijacked’ by politically motivated groups operating under the guise of ‘Gen Z’.
“This victory feels so hollow. People are celebrating as if they’ve won freedom, but what we have actually inherited is a vacuum. And vacuums don’t stay empty: they get filled, often by the same elites,” wrote on Reddit user.
“Our whole agenda is getting hijacked people. It’s time for us to think of phase 2. If we destroy every parliament office and every government official…who is going to run the country and create stability? At this rate, martial law is the only answer to stop this,” warned another.
“We lost 30+ lives of innocent brothers and sisters in yesterday’s protest. Multiple firings were done. Today, we had everything we wanted when KP Oli resigned. But what happened after is a tragedy. All government offices are burnt down, multiple firings from the guns stolen from the burning police department by those cowards hiding under the mask of gen-z. Hundreds of prisoners are set free. Every data is burnt, every information around is ashes. We will dive into further crisis,” lamented a third.
“I think we need to do a clean-up rally tomorrow. There has been a lot of property destruction today. Let’s show that we Gen Z are not only about destruction but saviors as well,” urged another.
“We lost now. It’s over. The supreme court is burned. And there were a lot of pending cases. What about them? Now Singha durbar is also in the verge of being completely burned. Many more government offices around the country are destroyed with them. I think that all the evidences are also gone which would be probably helpful for exposing the corrupt acts. criminals are out of jail and armed people are freely roaming on streets what can be happen is not predictable now. It’s already out of hands,” added a fifth.