Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has revealed a deeply personal struggle: as she prepares to leave her official residence under the new Presidential Disqualification Act, landlords in Colombo are refusing to rent houses to her, allegedly out of fear sparked by the insults of YouTuber ‘Suda.’ Recovering from major surgery, she says she now has nowhere to go.
Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has once again been thrust into the center of controversy, this time not over politics, but over her own home. With the passage of the Presidential Disqualification Act, Kumaratunga has announced that she will vacate her official residence in Colombo within the next two months. Yet, she now finds herself struggling to secure a private place to live, claiming that landlords have been intimidated into rejecting her applications due to relentless online insults.
The former head of state disclosed that she had already located a small house in Colombo, but it required renovations before she could move in. Her plan was delayed after she suffered a fall three weeks ago, resulting in a broken hip and serious surgery. At present, she is still in recovery, undergoing physiotherapy multiple times a day and unable to even climb stairs.
“I found a small house that needed renovation. My son said he would come and help me in a week. In the meantime, I fell three weeks ago and broke my hip. I had to have a hip surgery. It was a serious surgery. I do physiotherapy two or three times a day. So I cannot go to that new house and do any work at the moment,” she explained.
Kumaratunga added that by regulation, any resident of a government-provided home must receive three months’ notice before being required to vacate. However, she claims that she has not received such notice. Despite this, she said she would not need the full three months, promising to vacate the property in two months, or sooner if renovations to her new house are completed ahead of schedule.
Before the new law was enacted, she had written directly to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, requesting permission to remain in her current residence for the rest of her life, offering to pay rent as assessed by the government. She also offered to cover the cost of any repairs. That request was rejected.
“I also agreed to pay for the repairs,” she noted, emphasizing that she had already spent Rs. 14 million of her own money to renovate and modernize the residence. “When I came here, there were no trees or grass. There was only gravel. I did the landscaping. At that time, the Mahinda Rajapaksa government refused to pay for it,” she recalled.
The former president highlighted that she is the only one of the five surviving retired presidents not to have been investigated by the current government. “I have not done anything wrong,” she said firmly.
Criticizing the current administration led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the National People’s Power (NPP) government, Kumaratunga said that the ruling party has failed to articulate solutions for the country’s economic and social crises.
“Since the day Anura Kumara Dissanayake started shouting on election platforms, he has not said how to solve the country’s problems. They have only talked about corruption. That is indeed a good thing. But they do not know how to prevent corruption in their government. All they do is shout about catching the fraudsters. They have not said a single word about developing the country. Education is in disarray. Health is in disarray. Their only slogan was to throw former presidents out of their homes,” she said.
Kumaratunga added that other countries provide retired leaders with privileges because they have contributed meaningfully to their nations. “In many countries, there are more privileges than these. Even in India, there are such good privileges,” she argued.
She stressed that she has no property in Colombo apart from her official residence. “I do not have a house in Colombo. My only house was in Rosmead Place. I sold it. I live off that money. I am not involved in corruption,” she clarified.
But the former president revealed the most painful part of her predicament: her inability to rent a private house. According to her, several landlords were initially willing to lease properties to her but later backed out, allegedly due to pressure stemming from online harassment.
“When I inspected these houses and agreed to them, the owners did not want to proceed with the transaction citing various reasons. Then I heard that they were scared because the JVP journalist ‘Suda’ had insulted me. When he started insulting me in obscene language, the owners of the houses were afraid that JVP would harass them,” she said.
Her comments highlight the growing influence of social media and YouTube personalities in shaping public opinion in Sri Lanka. While Chandrika insists that she is not guilty of corruption and has lived within her means, the repeated insults and accusations online appear to have created an environment of fear among potential landlords.
The remarks also underscore the human cost of political decisions, particularly the newly enacted Presidential Disqualification Act. While designed to reduce unnecessary spending on former presidents’ privileges, the law has forced a 79-year-old former head of state, recovering from major surgery and two bouts of cancer, into housing insecurity.
For Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, the issue is no longer about politics or privilege but about dignity and survival. She says she has paid her dues, invested her own money in her residence, and lived without corruption. Now, she faces the prospect of being left without a home in her twilight years.
As her situation draws sympathy and criticism alike, it also raises broader questions about how Sri Lanka treats its retired leaders. Should privileges be cut completely, or should some balance be struck based on service and integrity? For now, Chandrika’s future remains uncertain, caught between new laws, political hostility, and online abuse.
