Reports differ over Mahinda Rajapaksa’s hospital admission

Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was taken to hospital on October 12, but accounts differed over whether he required intensive care.

The Hindu reported that his Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party said the 80-year-old was admitted in the morning for urgent medical care and was under observation in an intensive care unit.

Newswire, in an account carried by FrontPage, quoted a source from Rajapaksa’s team saying he had undergone a routine checkup, was stable and was not receiving intensive care. His spokesman Manoj Gamage also disputed reports circulating about his health, according to NewsWave.

No hospital statement establishing a diagnosis was available in the reports reviewed. The competing accounts therefore do not establish the seriousness of his condition.

Rajapaksa was president from 2005 to 2015 and later prime minister. He led the country when government forces defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009.

His hospital visit comes while his wife Shiranthi and son Namal face separate investigations into alleged financial irregularities. Those proceedings are separate from his health. The family lost political influence during the economic crisis and protests of 2022, which forced his brother Gotabaya from the presidency.