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With SLPP national organiser, MP Namal Rajapaksa now in remand custody over the Airbus deal probe, every move around his party’s upcoming Anuradhapura rally is being watched closely. Into that gap stepped a claim that spread fast across Sinhala social media: that his wife, Limini Weerasinghe Rajapaksa, would step onto the September 12 rally stage to fill his absence. Here are the posts that carried it.
Social Media Posts:
Prompted by reader requests to verify the truth behind these claims, we investigated the matter as follows.
Fact-Check:
SLPP national organizer, MP Namal Rajapaksa was summoned before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption on September 4 to give a statement on the Airbus deal. After appearing and giving his statement, he was arrested by the Commission and later proceeded before court, which ordered him to remain in custody until the 18th of this month. Details are available here, here and here.
In a media statement issued on September 5, the SLPP said that despite Namal Rajapaksa’s remand, the Anuradhapura rally on the 12th would go ahead exactly as he had planned. Since his remand, that rally has become a key topic in political discourse.
No official statement confirms that Namal’s wife will take the Anuradhapura stage
Against this backdrop, we first checked whether the SLPP had officially announced, or mainstream media had reported, that Namal Rajapaksa’s wife would attend the party’s rally planned for Anuradhapura on the 12th, as claimed on social media. Our initial checks found no such official statement from the party, and no report to that effect in any mainstream media outlet.
The Nochchiyagama Pradeshiya Sabha councilor’s statement started it
Our further checks did surface a source for the claim. At a press briefing on September 5, Nochchiyagama Pradeshiya Sabha councilor Senaviratne Jayawardena said that the party had informed him Namal Rajapaksa’s wife would attend the September 12 rally. The councilor’s statement was carried by mainstream media, as shown below.
Because the social media claims about Namal Rajapaksa’s wife attending the September 12 rally emerged and after September 5, it is clear these posts were built on the statement made by this Pradeshiya Sabha councilor.
Namal Rajapaksa’s media division rejected the claim as baseless
We then checked the SLPP’s official social media channels for confirmation from the party. Namal Rajapaksa’s media division instead posted a statement calling the circulating claims false. It said the report claiming his wife would take the stage at the September 12 rally was baseless and had been published on unfounded information.
Former SLPP MP Sanjeewa Edirimanne confirmed there was no truth to it
To confirm the accuracy of the social media claims that Namal Rajapaksa’s wife would appear on stage at the Anuradhapura rally, we also contacted former SLPP MP Sanjeewa Edirimanne. He, too, said there was no truth whatsoever in the claim that Namal Rajapaksa’s wife would attend the September 12 rally. When we asked about the Pradeshiya Sabha councilor’s statement, he clarified that it was merely the councilor’s personal remark, and that the party had made no such official announcement.
Our attempts to reach Nochchiyagama Pradeshiya Sabha councilor Senaviratne Jayawardena by phone, to ask about his statement on Namal Rajapaksa’s wife attending the Anuradhapura rally, were unsuccessful.
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Conclusion:
Our fact-check finds that the social media posts claiming Limini Rajapaksa, wife of the currently remanded MP Namal Rajapaksa, will appear on stage at the public rally scheduled for September 12 in Anuradhapura are not based on any official source. The claim traces back to a single remark by a Nochchiyagama Pradeshiya Sabha councilor, Senaviratne Jayawardena, and not to any party announcement.
Namal Rajapaksa’s media division publicly rejected the posts as baseless, and former SLPP MP Sanjeewa Edirimanne confirmed the party had issued no such official statement. On this evidence, we rate the claim Misleading.
Title: Namal Rajapaksa’s Wife Taking the Anuradhapura Rally Stage? SLPP Denies the Viral Claim
Fact Check By: Sagarika Chathumali
Result: Misleading
