In this ‘land like no other’ – the country’s tourism tagline some years ago – it has been determined that Sri Lanka’s State Minister of Tourism was, in fact, a tourist; and, to boot, one who had overstayed her welcome by almost a decade. The magnitude of the matter is such that here is a ‘foreigner’ in the eyes of the highest court of the land who has conned her way for four long years in occupying a seat in the country’s Legislature while also presiding over Government policy as a Minister while enjoying VIP benefits at taxpayers’ expense.

Heads would have instantly rolled in most other self-respecting democracies over this embarrassing state of affairs – either for the failure of the State to detect such a massive breach of the law for four long years, or, alternatively, for colluding to cover up the breach. If it’s the latter, the big question is, on whose intervention? Unsurprisingly, fingers are being pointed at the highest echelons of the regime.

Meanwhile, the President must surely rue his response to a comment in Parliament last year, whereby when questioned on the issuance of a diplomatic passport to Diana Gamage by a Member of the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), he not only justified it but poked fun at the MP, querying as to why it should bother him as Gamage had handed over her party to the SJB.

Even though the historic judgment drew the curtain on this particular case, thanks to the single-mindedness and determination of a lone civil rights activist to pursue his convictions, the mafia-style obstacles thrown his way by both the State and the highest echelons of the political authority are certainly the stuff of a Hollywood blockbuster.

For her part, if the Supreme Court ruling was bad enough news, the former State Minister is now looking at further, more serious charges of contempt of court, after declaring that she does not accept the verdict. In addition to what seems an imminent legal challenge on this score, there are also rising calls within civil society seeking the refund of State funds utilised by the embattled former Minister during the time she spent as a Member of Parliament and State Minister appointed by the current President.

Interestingly, this is the former Minister’s second brush with the law on the issue of contempt of court over this same matter. In June last year, the Chief Magistrate of Colombo ordered a request to be forwarded to the President of the Court of Appeal to initiate legal action against Gamage on contempt charges. It was alleged that Gamage had stated during an interview on national television in May last year that she was privy to the Magistrate’s Court judgment before it was issued.

In April last year activist Oshala Herath sought a writ order from the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, disqualifying Gamage from being an MP, alleging that issuing a diplomatic passport to her was in violation of the Immigrants and Emigrants Act as she was purportedly a British citizen.

The Magistrate’s Court set aside the petition and declined to issue an order to arrest Gamage under the Immigrants and Emigrants Act, stating that the Police was adequately empowered to make the arrest if it was satisfied that Gamage was in violation of the law. What is interesting is that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) which went before the Colombo Magistrate seeking an arrest order citing immigration fraud, suddenly went weak at the knees upon being told by the Magistrate that they did not need a court order to make the arrest. Nothing happened thereafter. In fact this apathy is noted in the Supreme Court judgment which states that “investigations strangely and startlingly remained in limbo for over 18 months”.

It was following this episode that activist Herath sought the intervention of the Court of Appeal, seeking an order to declare Gamage as being in breach of immigration law. However, despite the Appeal Court also proceeding to dismiss the petition, undeterred, he sought remedy from the apex court as a last resort. The rest is now history.

The stench of the Dianagate episode pervades a significant portion of the State machinery that ordinary citizens routinely rely on for help, ranging from the Sri Lanka Police to key State entities like the Department of Immigration and Emigration. Dianagate has over the course of the past two years not only highlighted all that is rotten and stinking in this land, which in fact lies at the root of its current perilous state, but also the extent to which the cancer of political corruption has spread, encompassing State institutions that are supposed to be independent and politicians whose thirst for power has no bounds.

It will be recalled that Gamage, upon being elected to Parliament through the National List of the main Opposition SJB, being one of seven such nominations following the General Election in 2020, had thereafter applied for a Sri Lankan diplomatic passport. It is likely that the SJB got wind of the matter and realised the error it had made notwithstanding the circumstances that warranted the nomination – being part of a pre-election barter deal in lieu of handing over the party registered by her. However, the parting became quick and official when, barely three months after the August polls, Gamage decided to go against party diktat and voted for the 20th Amendment.

Meanwhile, the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration at the time had reason to doubt the authenticity of documents submitted for Gamage’s application and therefore refused to issue a passport. To his credit, even the deposed former President stood by his official and resisted pressure to issue the requested travel document.

However, with the exit of the former President and the incumbent taking office, things appear to have taken a turn in favour of the former State Minister. The new President seems to have wasted no time in removing the main obstacle to the issuance of a passport to Gamage, by appointing a new Controller General of Immigration and Emigration. True to form the new man proceeded to issue a Sri Lankan diplomatic passport in September 2022, disregarding the multiple red flags previously raised over the matter.

In fact, the Supreme Court judgment notes that the new Controller General of Immigration and Emigration had in an affidavit to court stated that he was not aware whether Gamage was the holder of a British passport, but a Deputy Controller of the same department who had checked the computer database had confirmed it. The judgment goes on to note this inconsistency as a “fascinating fact”.

What is now clear is that the Controller is in as much trouble as Gamage herself and it will be interesting to see as to who will come to his rescue. After all, attempting to mislead the highest court in the land is no simple matter and warrants appropriate punitive measures. All eyes will now be on the CID. Whether the official will be bold enough to spill the beans only time will tell.

Then again, just like the Immigration Controller, the Police Chief too has a lot to answer for given the Supreme Court taking note of “Police inaction for one-and-a-half years,” coinciding with the tenure of the new dispensation. Coincidentally both the Controller as well as the Inspector General of Police come under the Ministry of Public Security and report directly to the same Minister, now in the eye of a storm over the outsourcing of visa issuance.

Coming back to the embattled former State Minister, interestingly enough she had chosen to remain silent in court through most of the proceedings where she could have explained her case at length. However, having foregone that opportunity, she is now firing on all cylinders, even going to the extent of rejecting the court verdict. Imagine the plight of this nation if every individual the court finds guilty of charges against them follows the former Minister’s example?

It is for this reason that the only institution that has escaped politicisation should be protected by the people of this country at any cost from the clutches of desperate politicians now reduced to seeking desperate measures to ensure their survival. The Supreme Court judgment on the Gamage matter is a stark reminder that the political class will not hesitate to go to dangerous extents to protect their interests and collusion with key officials is part of that exercise. The millions who demanded system change not so long ago are being short-changed like never before, it seems.

In a country where those found guilty by court roam freely and even have the nerve to seek future political office, it is now up to the people to decide on the fate of this nation. Those who were found guilty of crashing the economy, those who were found guilty of negligence in preventing the Easter attacks, those facing allegations of numerous scams ranging from the bond scam to importation of sugar, onions, inferior petrol, etc. are now joined by those accused of visa scams, renewable energy scams, mega medical import scams, inferior highway construction scams, and now a bogus passport scam and a State Minister who took the entire country for a ride. The list keeps growing while the powers that be are busy pontificating about a nation on the mend.