SJB Councillor Lihini Fernando says the arrest of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe sets a dangerous precedent, exposing future Sri Lankan presidents to political reprisals and undermining the dignity of the highest office.
Moratuwa Municipal Councillor of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), Lihini Fernando, has warned that the arrest of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe sets a dangerous precedent for the office of the presidency in Sri Lanka.
In a Facebook statement, Fernando argued that criminalizing the overlap between public and private life in the presidency undermines the dignity of the office and leaves future leaders exposed to political reprisals.
“Future Presidents will constantly face the risk of prosecution for performing even the most ordinary personal functions while in office. A President cannot separate his private life from his public role, as his security, movements, and engagements are entirely controlled by the State,” she said.
Fernando explained that the Presidential Security Division (PSD) is constitutionally mandated to accompany a President at all times, whether for official duties, personal functions, or overseas travel. She added that a separate state budget is allocated for this purpose, meaning that security arrangements cannot be suspended even for private activities.
Citing Wickremesinghe’s case, she noted that after completing an official tour of the United States, the former President stopped in London to attend his wife’s graduation. Expenses, including airfare for his security detail, were later treated as misuse of public funds under the Public Property Act, leading to his remand.
“If that is the yardstick, then the same principle must apply to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. He has used his official vehicle, state-provided fuel, and presidential security for visits to his mother and for attending NPP political meetings. By the same logic, those actions could also be classified as misuse of state resources,” Fernando said.
She stressed that selective accountability undermines the rule of law, adding: “Either the law applies equally to all, or it becomes nothing more than a political weapon.”
Fernando further emphasized that by convention, every movement of the President—whether official or private—is safeguarded by the PSD, as the President represents the sovereignty of the people.
