The arrest of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe a lawyer by profession sets a “dangerous precedent” for the office of the presidency in Sri Lanka. For example criminalizing the inherent overlap between public and private life in the presidency threatens the dignity of the highest office in the country and leaves future leaders vulnerable 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.
The Presidential Security Division (PSD) is constitutionally obligated to accompany a President at all times, whether attending official meetings, personal functions, or traveling overseas. A separate state budget is allocated for this purpose, meaning that presidential security protocols cannot be suspended for personal activities.
In Wickremesinghe’s case after completing an official tour of the United States, the former President stopped over in London to attend his wife’s graduation. The related expenses, including airfare for his security personnel, 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 (AKD). who 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.
Therefore selective accountability undermines the rule of law: Either the law applies equally to all, or it becomes nothing more than a political weapon.
By tradition and convention, every movement of the President—whether official or private—is safeguarded by the PSD, as the President embodies the sovereignty of the people.
Lihini Fernando- Attorney at law
Note ;
Another case in point is the alleged misuse of the car by the wife belonging to the Secretary to the President, ironically the person who put the complaint against the former president.
