Cape Town – Former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka after anti-government protesters stormed his official residence in July and is set to return home on Saturday.
Chaos erupted over the island nation’s worst-ever economic crisis during Rajapaksa’s reign as president which begun in November 2019.
The country faced a shortage of essential food, medicine and cooking gas, as well as an increase in fuel prices.
According to Indo-Asian News Service, Rajapaksa's initial attempt was to flee to the US where his son lives, however, Washington refused to provide a visa.
He then fled to the Maldives with the help of former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed, before making his way to Singapore and later to Thailand where he was allowed a 90-day stay.
“The president should not have left the country but he could have given up the presidency while living in Sri Lanka,” Jagath Kumara, an MP from Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party told the media on Friday.
“He is a citizen of this country and nobody can take the law into his or her hand,” the MP said.
IOL