A serious problem has emerged in Sri Lanka’s health sector. Patients who could have been saved are now more vulnerable due to the introduction of inferior drugs into the country by the former Health Minister, Keheliya Rambukwella. Expert Dr Chamal Sanjeeva revealed that almost 150 millions rupees had been fraudulently spent on this crisis transaction. This revelation drew the attention of civil organisations, the opposition leader, and the people, who launched several operations in search of information on the drug fraud. As a result, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa submitted a motion of no confidence to Parliament against Keheliya Rambukwella. However, Keheliya Rambukwella won the motion with the majority of votes, revealing that the country’s commitment to truth is still lacking. 113 Members of Parliament expressed their support for Keheliya Rambukwella, who is the head of the drug deal in question, to continue holding his position.
The government fails to cover up the fraud
The government’s attempt to cover up fraud did not succeed. The President took action by removing Keheliya Rambukwella from his position as Minister of Health and appointing him as the Cabinet Minister of Environment. The minister strategically made the change by announcing a cabinet reshuffle, and entrusted the health ministership to Ramesh Pathirana, who is also a doctor.
Despite the government’s efforts to conceal the fraud and corruption, several parties filed complaints to the court. The Criminal Investigation Department was assigned to investigate the drug fraud allegations.
Several officials, including the former secretary of the Ministry of Health, were arrested and brought to court. After examining the facts, the court ordered the relevant suspects to be remanded in custody. The former health minister was also ordered to be questioned about the issue.
How former minister Keheliya was arrested
Keheliya Rambukwella was requested to appear at the CID Police on January 31st to provide a statement related to an incident, but he failed to do so. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs informed the court that the former Health Minister was avoiding appearing before the Criminal Investigation Department by providing false information.
Maligakanda Magistrate Lochani Abewickrama Weerasinghe understood the situation and prevented Keheliya Rambukwella from leaving the country. The Magistrate issued an order for him to appear before the Criminal Investigation Department at 9.00 am on February 2nd.
As per the order, Keheliya Rambukwella was brought to the Criminal Investigation Department to provide a statement. After a prolonged interrogation, he was arrested at around 7.40 that night.
The former Minister of Health was presented to the court on February 3rd. After considering the facts presented by the Attorney General’s Department and the plaintiffs’ lawyers, the court ordered the suspect, Keheliya Rambukwella, to be remanded until the 15th.
Bringing inferior medicines outside the legal framework
During the court hearing, Deputy Solicitor General Lakmini Girihagama presented the case on behalf of the Attorney General’s Department. She highlighted that the drug ‘Immuno globin’, which is highly sensitive and meant for nervous patients, should only be purchased from the State Pharmaceutical Legislated Corporation or from registered suppliers.
However, she also emphasised that the suspect, former Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella, had relaxed these conditions, creating a grave danger to the country.
The Deputy Solicitor General further stated that the former Minister of Health had a responsibility to create a healthy population, as per the constitution. Instead of fulfilling this responsibility, he acted in bad faith by conspiring to distribute substandard antibody vaccines called ‘Immuno globin’ to government hospitals.
The judge paid attention to the seriousness of the matter and ordered an immediate investigation into all drugs obtained under the Indian loan scheme, as well as all medications supplied by ‘Ausulate Biotech Pharma’ from the year 2022, which is said to have imported inferior drugs.
Instructions were given to the concerned departments, and after considering all the presented facts, the Magistrate ordered the suspected former health minister to be remanded until the 15th.
Overall, the hearing lasted for 4 hours and 15 minutes, and the Deputy Solicitor General’s presentation shed light on the former Minister of Health’s actions that jeopardised the health and safety of the country’s population.
Instead of ‘Immunoglobin’, a solution that cannot be called a medicine
During the Covid-19 epidemic, an emergency procurement process was introduced to allow the government to quickly and efficiently purchase necessary medical supplies. However, it has recently been alleged that this process was exploited to carry out a fraudulent scheme.
It is believed that nervous patients were provided with a solution that cannot be considered medicine instead of the highly sensitive drug ‘Immunoglobulin’. This drug is essential for the treatment of various nervous system disorders and is often used in emergency situations. The alternative solution provided was not only ineffective but also posed a risk to patients’ health.
What is even more concerning is that it is alleged that the former Minister of Health, Keheliya Rambukwella, was directly involved in this fraudulent process. This information was revealed in court proceedings, and the Deputy Solicitor General provided a detailed explanation of the matter.
The alleged fraud is a severe matter and raises questions about the integrity of the emergency procurement process. It is crucial that those responsible are held accountable and that measures are taken to prevent such incidents from happening again in the future.
Keheliya’s irresponsible statements
The Deputy Solicitor General who said that he had presented facts to the Cabinet regarding 182 types of medicines, and during the questioning in that regard, Keheliya Rambukwella gave an answer ‘I did it because the medical supply department told me’ Is it fair to do so?
Accordingly, it has also been revealed that in this transaction, an amount of one billion rupees has been paid under the Indian loan scheme. In the event of an economic crisis, these loans given by India have to be repaid to India after a period of three years.
As a cabinet minister, it is clear that the former health minister has not fulfilled his responsibility to properly use public tax money. It is also becoming apparent that instead of the responsibility of protecting sick lives, he has made sick lives unsafe.
Sri Lanka’s first cabinet minister who went to remand prison
No matter how severe the charges against the ministers related to the government of Sri Lanka are before the court, they will not lose their positions. As a minister, there is no perk or privilege. In Sri Lanka, there is also a nature that gives way to corruption and fraud.
But it does not happen in other countries. Either they resign from the position they hold. Or they are removed by the government. However, in this incident, Keheliya Rambukwella took steps to resign as Minister of Environment.
In this incident, it has been clearly revealed that there are patients who are seriously ill as well as those who have lost their lives due to the poisoning of inferior medicine. It has also been discovered that water or solutions coloured as medicines have been distributed.
The Attorney General’s Department informed the court that. To what extent is Minister Keheliya Rambukwella responsible for the juvenile medicine scam that confused people’s lives? We have to wait until the court itself decides.
Sri Lanka is a country where corruption and fraud are rampant
Keheliya is the first cabinet minister in Sri Lanka to be remanded in custody following allegations of corruption and misuse of public funds. This situation serves as a powerful reminder to the politicians and high-level government officials who have supported fraudulent activities that they will not go unpunished.
It is a well-known fact that the law in Sri Lanka is often biassed towards the powerful. Ordinary government officials who take bribes are frequently punished, while those who engage in fraud and other corrupt practices on a larger scale often escape justice. This has been a longstanding concern for Sri Lankan citizens and has garnered attention from the international community.
The International Monetary Fund has highlighted the issue of corruption and fraud in Sri Lanka, which has been a major obstacle in the country’s economic development. Before granting debt relief, the IMF noted that corruption and fraud are rampant in Sri Lanka and that the government must take concrete steps to address these issues.
Therefore, Keheliya’s arrest and detention can be seen as a step in the right direction towards tackling corruption in Sri Lanka. It sends a message to those who engage in corrupt activities that they will be held accountable for their actions, regardless of their position of power.
A challenge to the government representatives who stood for Keheliya’s protection
Meanwhile, civil organisations as well as opposition leader Sajith Premadasa are making strong accusations against the government. They are of the opinion that a person who has committed fraud should not be protected even if he is a friend.
The opposition leader points out that as soon as he received information about this fraud, he and his group submitted a motion of no confidence against Keheliya Rambukwella.
However, the opposition leader Sajith Premadasa had recently emphasized that the ministers who represented the government stood up for the protection of a person who committed a heinous crime of committing fraud and killing the lives of patients, and 113 people stood up for the protection of Keheliya Rambukwella.
He points out that the representatives of the government who stood for the protection of Keheliya are also part of this fraud and crime. It is currently being observed that most of the society approves the statement presented by the opposition leader.
However, it is the belief of the Sri Lankan society that this judicial action is taking place very strongly.
The court action has reached a strong state until a person who is a cabinet minister is remanded for the first time. It is a fair representation of the law for the people. Society demands a free living environment in which its rights are affirmed.
For that, the most crucial factor is the proper establishment of the supremacy of the law, and it can be understood with this incident that it has become a firm belief of the Sri Lankan society that the legal system, including the judiciary, is currently working towards that need.
