Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane resigns after Supreme Court rules he is not a Nepalese citizen

The Supreme Court of Nepal on January 27, 2023 delivered a stunning setback to the new government in Kathmandu and declared that the Home Minister of Nepal Rabi Lamichhane is not a Nepalese citizen. Following the verdict from a constitutional bench of the Court on Friday Mr. Lamichhane — whose Rashtriya Swatantra Party emerged as the kingmaker in the November 2022 election — is expected to lose the seat in the Parliament.

Mr. Lamichhaney who made his mark as a highly popular TV anchor had been under the shadow of controversy over his alleged American citizenship. He had claimed that he had renounced US citizenship before contesting election but the court found that he had not completed the process for acquiring Nepalese citizenship. “I am a non-citizen, a nobody. I have no answers,” Mr. Lamichhane told in media in Kathmandu before submitting the letter of resignation to Prime Minister Prachanda.

The left-dominated government of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda was sworn-in on December 26 2022. Mr. Lamichhane who had emerged as the most important political player with twenty elected MPs from his newly formed Rashtriya Swatantra Party was sworn in as the Home Minister. The investigation into the issue of his citizenship was being dealt by the Home Ministry and he soon attracted criticism for conflict of interest.