Hirunika’s conviction an important lesson for over-zealous politicians

Former Member of Parliament Hirunika Premachandra was sentenced to three years imprisonment for abducting, threatening, assaulting, and intimidating a 26-year-old man in 2016. She was found guilty of 18 charges by Colombo High Court Judge Amal Ranaraja who handed down the sentence citing the seriousness of the indictment against her.

Hirunika Premachandra (37) served as an MP from 2015-2020 but lost her seat at the last general election. Though out of Parliament, she remained relevant during the tenure of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa by being one of his staunchest critics. Her anger toward the former President was driven by his decision to grant a Presidential pardon to Duminda Silva, the man who was found guilty in the murder of her father, one time MP Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra. She petitioned the Supreme Court and got the pardon granted to Silva overturned, sending him back to prison.  

In her short career in politics, Hirunika has been in several political parties, first with the SLFP, then the UNP and for now, settling with the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) even though in recent weeks there has been growing tensions between her and SJB party leader Sajith Premadasa. It’s amidst such speculation about her political future that the HC handed down its sentence against her. 

In a country where thuggery is second nature to politics, Hirunika’s actions are not surprising. She is one of the few politicians who have been tried and found guilty of this kind of charges even though those who have faced charges of committing worse crimes including murder have gone scot-free.

Hirunika is set to appeal against the judgement and what will follow is yet to be seen but the HC judge has sent out a strong message that political power will not shield the guilty from punishment.

Since her entry to politics, Hirunika has cut a bold figure taking on powerful forces in Government and has been particularly passionate about exposing corruption within the country’s prison system. The preferential treatment given to her arch-rival Duminda Silva in prison has often been highlighted by her in Parliament.

Being a young mother, she has also been a trendsetting politician juggling motherhood and work and was seen several times bringing her infant children to Parliament highlighting one of the many challenges that women in politics and in general face as compared to their male counterparts. But despite the many positives, she overstepped many boundaries, and it is due to one such incident that today she is facing a jail sentence. 

During the start of the public agitation against the former president, Hirunika set the bad precedent of getting her supporters to surround private residences of not only Rajapaksa and the current president Ranil Wickremesinghe. She also led crowds of her supporters to surround the house of the purported astrologer of the former president Gnanawathi Jayasooriya, better known as Gnana Akka, a private citizen, forcing her and her family to flee the area and live for months in hiding. The first shots that Hirunika fired eventually led to the burning down of the private residence of President Wickremesinghe as well as homes of scores of ruling party politicians.

She started out as a young woman with a promising future in politics but her over zealousness has landed her in jail today.

It’s possible Hirunika will overcome these challenges and will gain entry to Parliament once again given that she remains a popular figure, but her conviction will remain a reminder that no one is above the law. As a former MP and one awaiting retry to Parliament, she has had to learn the hard way that one cannot always break the law and get away with it just because one has political clout.