KATHMANDU: Nepal’s former Chief Justice, Sushila Karki, has been appointed as the country’s interim prime minister following a week of deadly unrest that left at least 51 people dead, over 1,300 injured, and resulted in the escape of thousands of prisoners.
The appointment was announced on Friday by the office of President Ramchandra Paudel, marking a historic moment as Karki becomes Nepal’s first female head of government.
Aged 73, Karki is also the only woman to have ever served as Chief Justice of Nepal’s Supreme Court.
“President Ram Chandra Paudel will appoint former chief justice Sushila Karki as the prime minister,” presidential press advisor Kiran Pokharel told AFP.
Karki emerged as the leading candidate by many “Gen Z” representatives — the loose umbrella title of the protest movement.
Police spokesperson Binod Ghimire confirmed on Friday that at least 51 people have been killed in this week’s violence, including 21 protesters, nine prisoners, three police officers, and 18 others, though he did not provide further details.
He added that more than 13,500 prisoners escaped from jails across the country during the unrest, and while some have since been recaptured, 12,533 remain at large.
“The number of escaped inmates was approximately 13,500. Some have been apprehended, but 12,533 are still on the run,” Ghimire said.
Among the dead were prisoners who were killed during or after their escape in clashes with Nepalese security forces.
Reports suggest that some fugitives have attempted to cross into India, where several have been detained by Indian border authorities.
Nepal’s army, which has imposed a curfew, said that it had recovered more than 100 guns looted in the turmoil, with some protesters seen brandishing automatic rifles.
In a speech broadcast on Nepali media earlier this year, Sushila Karki spoke of ingrained corruption.
“We see it everywhere, but we don’t speak — now we need the youth to speak up, take the lead and stand in elections”, she said.
“What I have seen in the last 35 years does not work, I am 100 percent in favour of youth coming forward.”
Her tenure as chief justice, from 2016 to 2017, was brief but significant — challenging gender stereotypes and facing down politicians over corruption.
Born in 1952 in Biratnagar, an industrial town in eastern Nepal, she earned degrees in political science in India and in law in Kathmandu.
She began her career as a lawyer in 1979, and quickly gained a reputation as a fearless advocate, often taking up cases others avoided.
In 2012, Karki was one of two presiding Supreme Court judges who jailed a serving government minister for corruption — a first at the time for Nepal in its battle against a culture of graft.
