The Citizen Power Against Bribery, Corruption, and Waste organisation has urged the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to launch an inquiry into the alleged irregularities surrounding Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Opposition Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa’s entry to the Sri Lanka Law College (SLLC).
The organisation lodged a complaint late last week, calling for action against those who may have facilitated Rajapaksa’s admission to the SLLC and the political authorities responsible for the same.
The complaint, shared with The Daily Morning by the organisation’s President Kamantha Thushara, stated that the group was compelled to act following information published by a website questioning whether Rajapaksa met the academic requirements to enter the SLLC in 2009. It noted that his admission appeared to have taken place in violation of established regulations, including the recognition status of the foreign university where he said he completed his Bachelor of Laws degree.
Speaking to The Daily Morning, Thushara said that based on the information revealed in recent weeks, it appears that the SLLC administration of the time had acted in a way that favoured one individual. He said that such conduct amounted to corruption and hence urged the CIABOC to investigate and take action against those responsible, including the political authority that oversaw the process.
According to recent media reports, Rajapaksa was admitted to the SLLC on the same day that he submitted his application, even though the City University of London, England – where he said he obtained his degree – was not recognised by the SLLC at the time. A Right to Information response quoted in the said news report shows that the university was added to the approved list of related foreign degree awarding bodies recognised locally by the SLLC, only on 15 October 2009, nearly three weeks after his enrolment.
The report also states that Rajapaksa’s SLLC file does not contain a degree certificate, but only a transcript and a letter from the City University confirming a Third Class degree. It further points to discrepancies between the transcript submitted in 2009 and a separate degree certificate later used for a master’s programme, which bears the signature of a vice chancellor who had already left office by that time.
Rajapaksa has since dismissed the allegations as entirely false. He told the media that the Government initiated a B report soon after coming into office to scrutinise his qualifications, but that months of inquiries had not produced any findings in court.