Columns

• UK trip in 2023 at centre of probe; CID tells court public  funds misused for private travel
• In show of support, Rajapaksa, Premadasa among leaders visiting prison hospital
• Govt adopts hardline stance on postal strike; unions hold ground; strikes spread to other state sectors

By our Political Desk

The first salvo was fired in March this year by House Leader and Minister Bimal Rathnayake against former President Ranil Wickremesinghe when he told Parliament that the former president had used state funds exceeding GBP 40,000 (over Rs. 16 million) for a private visit with his wife, Maithree, to the United Kingdom in 2023. It was an early indication that the Government was gunning for the former president, as, along with this, Minister Rathnayake and several other cabinet ministers began bringing long lists of alleged cases of misuse of power by Mr. Wickremesinghe during his tenure as president from 2022 to 2024.

Things began heating up earlier this month when Mr. Wickremesinghe’s long-time private secretary, Sandra Perera, was called to the Criminal Investigation Department to record a statement from her on the U.K. visit. This was followed by the former Secretary to the President, Saman Ekanayake, being summoned to the CID on August 6 to record a statement on the alleged misuse of public funds by the former president. The CID also recorded statements from Presidential Secretariat officers who served during the tenure of Mr Wickremesinghe, Foreign Ministry officials and several others before summoning the former president to the CID on Friday to record a statement.

It was a dramatic day in the country’s history, the first time an executive president has been arrested and remanded, thus drawing worldwide attention. For the former president, a man who has been in active politics for nearly five decades, it was a challenging day which ended with a ride on the Black Maria to prison.

National Hospital security get into action as the former President Ranil Wickremesinghe is brought to hospital in an ambulance from remand prison last morning. Pic by Eshan Fernando

Former President Wickremesinghe had been summoned to the CID on Friday to record a statement in relation to the investigation into his UK visit. He arrived at about 9 a.m. and was questioned for several hours before being arrested just after 1 p.m. after his statement was taken and being informed of the offences he was being charged under the Public Property Act.

At about 3.30 p.m., Mr. Wickremesinghe was taken to the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court and produced before Magistrate Nilupuli Lankapura. By then, the court premises were teeming with journalists, opposition politicians and Mr. Wickremesinghe’s supporters who had heard about his arrest.

The large number of politicians who were present in court included Mr. Wickremesinghe’s former prime minister and Royal College classmate Dinesh Gunawardena; Mr. Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) members Vajira Abeywardena, Ruwan Wijewardene and Akila Viraj Kariyawasam; and former ministers Nimal Siripala De Silva, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Ali Sabry and Tiran Alles. A large number of current opposition MPs were also present in court, including Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa, Chief Opposition Whip and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Gayantha Karunathilaka, and SJB MPs Kabir Hashim, Kavinda Jayawardena, Mujibur Rahman and Dayasiri Jayasekara.

A scene that caught many by surprise was the arrival of former President Maithripala Sirisena at the court premises. The bitter feud between Mr. Sirisena and his then Premier Wickremesinghe during the Yahapalana Government is well-documented. Mr. Sirisena, though, not only came to court to support Mr. Wickremesinghe but also sat next to him.

As a lawyer, Mr. Wickremesinghe may have asked through his counsel for the courtesy of being afforded the opportunity of sitting outside the dock, but he opted not to avail himself of that request and sat in the dock with a smile.

He was defended by a team of lawyers led by President’s Counsels Anuja Premaratne and Upul Jayasuriya, while the Attorney General’s Department sent in Additional Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris and Senior State Counsel Samadari Piyasena. Those representing the CID included its Director, Senior Superintendent of Police Shani Abeysekara.

At about 5.30pm, after hearing arguments from both sides, Magistrate Lankapura suspended sittings for half an hour, after which she was to announce her decision. At about 6.20pm, however, the courtroom premises abruptly went dark as the power suddenly shut off. Though some initially suspected sabotage, it soon became apparent after the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) was called in that with the sheer number of those present in court, the air-conditioning, fans and lights had all been turned on in the courtroom, and the load had proved too much for the system to handle, leading to power being shut off. Power was restored at about 7pm.

The magistrate, however, came to the courtroom at about 9.45pm, nearly 4 ½ hours after sittings were suspended. There were audible gasps in the courtroom among some lawyers when Magistrate Lankapura delivered the order remanding Mr. Wickremesinghe till August 26.

The former president was soon led away in handcuffs to a prison bus amid shouts of support and encouragement on his behalf from about 200 supporters who had gathered in the court premises. Some were openly in tears, while others vented their anger and frustration to media personnel who were gathered at the location, hurling insults at the NPP government and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Mr. Wickremesinghe was transported to the Welikada Prison late on Friday night and was later admitted to the Prison Hospital on medical advice. His lawyer had earlier informed court that Mr. Wickremesinghe suffered from a number of illnesses, including a heart ailment, diabetes and high blood pressure. Several opposition MPs went to see the former president at the Prison Hospital yesterday.

The charges against  Mr. Wickremesinghe stem from a two-day stopover in the UK en route from New York, during which stopover his wife, Dr. Maithree Wickramasinghe, was awarded an honorary professorship by the University of Wolverhampton in recognition of her extensive research, training and policy work on gender equity and equality. The dates of travel to the UK were 22.9.2023 to 23.09.2023, which the CID describes in its ‘B’ report handed over to court as a private visit for which public funds were used.

The CID probe began following a complaint lodged by the Presidential Secretariat’s Anti-Corruption and Special Investigations Director, A.J.L. Wimalaratne, on May 23, 2025. It was based on information forwarded to him via a letter along with an investigation report by Presidential Secretary Dr. N.S. Kumanayake.

The basic findings of the CID inquiry are as follows:

• The former president accompanied by his wife Maithree and a ten-member delegation who were on an official visit to Cuba and the USA had made a stopover in the UK for a private visit and attended a ceremony where the former First Lady was being awarded an honorary professorship.
• By scrutinising email exchanges, facsimile records as well other documentary evidence in addition to the statements provided by witnesses, it has been established that this was a private visit.
• The Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Europe and North America Division which is responsible for maintaining Sri Lanka’s bilateral relations with countries in Europe and North America regions, had no records of an official visit to the UK during the period nor were there any records of discussions held or conferences attended during the two days in the UK, hence establishing this as a private visit.
• As there was no official invitation for Mr. Wickremesinghe from the UK, and hence on the advice of his Private Secretary Sandra Perera, it was included in his itinerary as a “private visit”.
• An amount of Rs.16,270,572.83 had been authorised by the then Secretary to the President Saman Ekanayake, who was also the Chief Accounting Officer from the allocations of the Presidential Secretariat under Head No:1102 to cover the costs of the two day stay in the UK.
• The internal audit of the Presidential Secretariat has revealed that the funds for the private visit of the former president to the UK was covered with Rs. 13,370,350.82 from the Secretariat, Rs.3,274,301.39 from the allocations to the Sri Lanka Police and Sri Lanka Navy making it a total of Rs.16,644,652,21, hence leading to a  misappropriation of public funds.
• The CID informed the court that as public funds amounting to more than Rs. 16.6 million had been misused during Mr. Wickremesinghe’s private visit to the UK, he has committed offences under Sections 386 and 388 of the Penal Code and Section 5(1) of the Public Property Act.
• As part of its probe, the CID obtained statements from dozens of witnesses, including security officers in the 10-member group that had taken part in the visit in question.
• In his statement, the then Secretary to the President, Saman Ekanayake, said that when an invitation for an official overseas visit is received, it is sent to his private secretary, who coordinates with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make the necessary arrangements. The estimate for the costs for such visits is calculated by the Sri Lanka overseas mission in the relevant countries and shared with the Presidential Secretariat for the allocation of the necessary funds. Differentiating an overseas visit by the President as an official or private visit is a difficult task, and it is the officers of the MFA who keep records of such visits. If there are no written minutes of such discussions, it would mean that no discussions were held or that such a discussion was only between the president and an official of the country he was visiting. Moreover, on long flights, the president takes a rest at stops such as London, Dubai, Singapore and Doha, and hence, on the return from the Cuba-USA tour, he had made a stopover in London to spend a night.
• Mr. Ekanayake said he was aware that the President would be staying over in the UK during his return from the USA but was unaware of his itinerary there except for a scheduled discussion with the Vice Chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton. There was no record of any other meetings. Mr. Ekanayake said he had put a minute saying ‘ Pl. Grant Allocations Imprest’ to the email dated 16.08.2023, titled ‘Private visit of H.E. the President to Wolverhampton and London, UK, 22-23 September, 2023’ and given approval for the allocation of GBP 40,445 for the visit to London and Wolverhampton, and that as the Chief Accounting Officer he is authorised to sanction such payment under finance regulation 136 and other relevant regulations.
• In his statement to the CID, the Presidential Secretariat’s Senior Additional Secretary for Administration, Diplomatic Affairs, Human Resources Management and Secretary of the President’s Fund, Subash Chaminda Roshan, had stated that there were no official or state engagements included on the programme during the then President’s visit to the UK on September 22 and 23, 2023, to attend the graduation ceremony at the University of Wolverhampton. There were no official invitations, no time slots had been requested for meetings, and neither the UK government nor any agency affiliated to it was connected to the visit in any way. There was no media coverage of the visit, and no officials from the President’s Media Division accompanied the President during this visit. While heads of relevant divisions of the Foreign Ministry accompany the President during official or state foreign visits, they were not included during this visit. Mr. Roshan had further stated that this particular visit to the UK had been a private visit for which state funds had been used and that letters and documents exchanged regarding the visit had initially referred to it as a private visit before it was changed into an official visit. Officials who took part in the visit had also obtained government allowances and duty leave given to those participating in such official visits.
• President Wickremesinghe had earlier attended the G77 summit in Cuba from September 13 to 16, 2023, and then visited the United States to attend the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York from September 16 to 21. The visit to the UK from September 22 to 23 was a private visit solely to attend the graduation ceremony at the University of Wolverhampton, where his wife was awarded an honorary professorship, the CID told the court.
• Ten persons had been part of the UK visit in question. Aside from Mr. and Mrs. Wickremesinghe, the others were the Foreign Ministry’s then Chief of Protocol Senarath Dissanayake, the former President’s Private Secretary Sandra Perera, his Medical Officer D.M.S.S. Wijayapala (attached to the Sri Lanka Navy), Personal Security Officer Chief Inspector Ashoka Ariyawansha, officers of the Presidential Security Division – Superintendent of Police P.N. Guruge, Chief Inspector I.M.I.R. Delgoda, Police Constable B.M.N.A.S. Ariyaratne, and Protocol Officer of the Foreign Ministry A.T. Kosala Perera.

The CID’s report submitted to court contained a list of documents, including letters, emails and reports that had been taken into its custody. The CID had told court that investigations conducted on the documents had revealed that Mr. Wickremesinghe had no official engagements during his visit to the UK on September 22 and 23, 2023. Investigators had noted that when the visit was first planned, it had been referred to in documents as a “Private Visit”. This had then been changed to “Visit” in later documents before being changed again to “Official Visit”. They had also observed that the word “Private” had been subsequently circled in letters and documents—that had initially been exchanged regarding the visit—where the visit had been referred to as a “Private Visit.”

The CID had further noted that the fax sent by the Foreign Ministry Secretary to the British High Commissioner on August 16, 2023, informing of the visit had been sent under the heading “Private Visit of H.E. the President to Wolverhampton and London, UK, 22-23 September 2023.” The fax sent by the then Sri Lankan High Commissioner in London the following day (August 17) to the British Foreign Secretary had also used the same heading, as had the fax sent by the Foreign Ministry’s Protocol Division to the Presidential Secretariat’s Assistant Director – Protocol, Shanika Ekanayake, on September 1. However, it had been observed that a subsequent email sent to the President’s Secretary with the same heading had the word “Private” in the original letter circled using a blue pen. Subsequent local and foreign communications had dropped the word “Private” entirely, referring to the impending visit as “Visit of H.E. the President to Wolverhampton and London, UK, 22-23 September 2023.” It had then been further altered to be referred to as “Official Programme Cuba, UN and UK” when obtaining funding allocations for the visit.

In his statement to the CID, the Foreign Ministry’s former Chief of Protocol, Senarath Dissanayake, had told investigators that he had initially been informed by President Wickremesinghe’s Private Secretary Sandra Perera that the UK visit was a private one, and he had accordingly referred to it as “Private Visit of H.E. the President to Wolverhampton and London, UK, 22-23 September 2023” in the heading of the fax he had sent on August 16, 2023. Sometime between September 1 and 7, 2023 however, Ms. Perera had phoned him to inform him that the UK visit was not a private visit. As such, subsequent communications referring to the visit had used the heading “Visit of H.E. the President to Wolverhampton and London UK 22-23 September 2023.” Mr. Dissanayake, who was part of the group that travelled to the UK, had further stated that the only function he had seen former President Wickremesinghe attend while in the UK was the graduation ceremony at the University of Wolverhampton. He had not seen any official gatherings, discussions or diplomatic meetings being attended while Mr. Wickremesinghe was in the UK.

The Presidential Secretariat’s Chief Internal Auditor Vijitha Rohana Paranagama, meanwhile, had told the CID that all expenses relating to President Wickremesinghe, Ms. Wickremesinghe and Mr. Wickremesinghe’s Private Secretary Sandra Perera relating to the UK visit had been borne by the Presidential Secretariat under its expenditure head. He had stressed that all expenses borne under the President’s expenditure head must only be for government business. The Presidential Secretariat had spent more than Rs. 13.27 million for expenses relating to the UK visit, while a further Rs. 3.27 million had been spent under the expenditure heads of the Sri Lanka Police and the Sri Lanka Navy, taking the final amount spent on the visit to over Rs. 16.6 million. Given the observation made after examination of the documents relating to the visit that it had been a private visit and not an official one, Mr. Paranagama had stated to the CID that Mr. Wickremesinghe had used public funds for the visit and that this amounted to a misuse of public funds.

Stream of visitors

Meanwhile, on his first day at the prison hospital, Mr. Wickremesinghe had a long line of visitors, including former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, SJB leader Sajith Premadasa and several MPs. The consensus among those visiting the former president was that the government was on a witch-hunt against political opponents, and they expressed fears this would worsen in the months ahead.

The former president reportedly was in good spirits and good health except for an elevation of his blood sugar levels which had been brought under control. He had been provided with the necessary medical attention as well.

Mr.Premadasa who rarely sees eye to eye with Mr.Wickremesighe said that he is concerned that the news of the UNP leaders arrest was forecast on social media by a man aligned to the Government and this gives rise to serious questions if the government is serious about upholding the sanctity of the law. “This is clearly a case of contempt of Court,” he said.

Meanwhile, several UNP seniors , visibly upset at the arrests of their party leader, held a press conference last morning in Colombo to express their dismay at the ’path of revenge ’ the government has embarked upon. “This is clearly a case of political victimisation,” UNP Chairman Talata Atukorala said, adding that being president was a 24 hour job and there was no differentiation between private and official visit for a country’s leader.

There was inkling that the arrest of Mr.Wickremesinghe may pave the path for reconciliation with the SJB with some of its MPs saying that they had a common cause of stopping the vengeful activities of the Government directed at extracting revenge from political opponents.

A press conference where representatives of all main political parties are expected to attend is scheduled for today.

Crippling postal strike

The arrest of Mr. Wickremesinghe helped deflect attention from numerous woes that the government is being forced to confront, including an indefinite strike by postal workers. The postal strike started on Wednesday, and despite government warnings that the workers on strike would not be paid, the unionists have remained adamant they would not return until their demands are met. The strike by around 17,000 postal workers has crippled the country’s postal services.

While Cabinet spokesman Minister Nalinda Jayatissa attempted to cast the postal workers in a negative light by stating that they were against the move to introduce a fingerprint system for signing in and out of work, the workers have hit back, stating they were not against this system, but their demands are salary- and overtime-related, as well as for a service constitution that lays down guidelines for recruitment procedures, promotions, etc.

Postmaster General S.R.W.M.R.P. Sathkumara urged the workers to return to work on Thursday, promising to discuss their grievances. “Authorities are open to listening to concerns that can be addressed in accordance with Government policies,” he said.

The strike has led to a pile-up of mail at the Central Mail Exchange. This prompted the government to call in the police to take the mailbags out and facilitate distribution. This was met with resistance, but the police succeeded in removing some of the mailbags, but the distribution of mail remains stalled, with the situation likely to worsen unless some settlement is reached. The postal workers gained support from the Ceylon Teachers Union and the Frontline Socialist Party, whose members have joined the fight for their demands.

Ironically, the JVP had been in the forefront of the strikes by postal workers in the past, with now minister K.D. Lal Kantha, who heads the National Trade Union Centre of the JVP, expressing support, but now that the JVP is in government, support for trade unions has dwindled.

Postal workers aren’t the only ones threatening trade union action against some of the decisions taken by this government.

The proposed education sector reforms, which are to be implemented from next year, have drawn protests from teacher trade unions. The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) warned that if the Government extends school hours by half an hour from 2026 without proper consultation with the teachers, they will launch a strike.

The health sector too has been affected by trade union action. This week the Joint Council of Professions Supplementary to Medicine (JCPSM) announced that an indefinite strike has been launched across 31 hospitals under the Western Provincial Council (WPC) in protest against the implementation of last year’s (2024) transfer orders, which they claim were issued amid serious irregularities and strong opposition. Radiographers, medical laboratory technologists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, pharmacists, and physiotherapists have joined the strike action.

This has impacted patients seeking treatment at government hospitals in the WP with fears it could spread across the country.

Hartal in the North-East

Monday’s hartal campaign called by the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) against what they called the ongoing militarisation of the Northern and Eastern provinces turned out to be a bit embarrassing for the grand old Tamil political party in many regions where normalcy remained intact.

In what is considered the heartland of Tamil nationalism and the cultural city of Tamils, there were no signs of hartal in Jaffna town and the municipality area. Regional vegetable and fish markets where ITAK secured local governance saw a brief disruption of business activities till afternoon.

Banks, schools and local transport operated as usual without any disruption. However, in Mullaitivu, where a youth was found dead after entering a military camp—the incident that led the ITAK to call for hartal—the protest was effective, with most of the shops being closed.

“It is very disappointing to see that in certain places in Jaffna, the hartal campaign was not observed compared to Mullaithivu. Anyhow, we consider this token hartal a success since we were able to send a message to the government and international community on what looks like a normalised militarisation. The death of a youth in Mullaithivu was the outcome of it,” ITAK General Secretary M.A. Sumanthiran told reporters at the party leader’s office in Jaffna on Monday afternoon.

The day before the protest, he urged the people to mark the hartal as a token campaign till noon, considering the livelihood of daily workers and those who depend on daily labour to be able to put food on the table.

For Jaffna, it was the peak season with the ongoing Nallur Kandaswamy temple annual festival, which attracts locals, diaspora-based people and foreign tourists.

When asked why he opened the shop as usual, a tailor shop owner in Stanley Road, Jaffna, said that he had at least 25 orders of blouses (upper garments for sarees) that he had to deliver before the festival ends this week. “We cannot afford to close our shops, but they should have consulted with other parties and made a collective decision. Had they done it, we would have extended support.”

The Jaffna Chamber of Commerce also refused to extend support to ITAK’s call. In their effort to make the hartal impactful, ITAK leadership, including Secretary Sumanthiran and Acting President C.V. K. Sivagnanam, had to be in constant touch with regional party wings that secured local bodies.

One such move during the proceedings of the Jaffna Municipal Council came a cropper, with most of the members refusing to extend support for the hartal.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Sumanthiran said this is not the first, nor the last, time ITAK is protesting against militarisation in the two provinces. “We launched an islandwide protest against the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in the past. We will continue to protest against the military being involved in the daily lives of our people in the future as well.”

“Despite assurances in the past, the NPP government did not release even an inch of land from military custody in the North. Thousands of private lands are still under military custody. Only an access lane was released under this government, and that is also under strict conditions of accessing it only during a limited time,” he charged.

Meanwhile, another protest was called by locals for tomorrow (25) in Point Pedro against two military camps on private land. Protesters are demanding that the government shift them elsewhere.