The Colombo High Court has postponed the long-delayed corruption trial against former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella to September 25, following a request from his legal team citing health concerns.
The case, filed in 2015 by the Bribery Commission, accuses Rambukwella of misusing public funds during his tenure as Minister of Mass Media in 2012. He is alleged to have paid his personal mobile phone bill using money from the State Printing Corporation between March and April of that year. Also named in the case is former Corporation Chairman Jayampathy Bandara Heenkenda.
When the case was called before High Court Judge Sujeewa Nissanka, Rambukwella’s President’s Counsel requested a further date, noting that his client was currently unwell. In response, counsel for the Bribery Commission urged for an expedited hearing, highlighting that the case has been pending for nearly a decade.
While granting the postponement, the judge fixed September 25 as the next hearing date and instructed that witnesses be summoned to appear.
The trial continues to draw attention as another example of long-standing corruption cases being delayed in Sri Lanka’s judicial system.
