Sri Lanka’s Parliamentary High Posts Committee has, for the second time, blocked the nomination of H.M.V.B. Vijitha Herath to a diplomatic post, following a series of allegations ranging from passport fraud and forged academic records to false diplomatic claims and concealed dual citizenship.
Chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, the committee has escalated the matter to investigative authorities, citing potentially criminal conduct that raises grave questions about the integrity of public appointments and the safeguarding of national interests.
Herath’s CV, which claimed service as Sri Lanka’s Honorary Consul in South Sudan between 2011 and 2014, has been debunked by official records confirming no such appointment was ever granted. Foreign Ministry officials confirmed that neither a Commission of Appointment nor an Exequatur, both legally required, were issued by the Sri Lankan or South Sudanese governments.
Further scrutiny reveals Herath unlawfully used an official Sri Lankan passport (No. OL3640273) between 2011 and 2021 despite having resigned from public service and falsely declared himself a “UN Desk Officer.” Experts describe this as a clear breach of Sri Lanka’s Immigration and Emigration Act.
Adding to the controversy, Herath is believed to have acquired British citizenship while residing in the UK, a fact he allegedly concealed from Sri Lankan authorities, a criminal offence under Section 45 of the Immigration Act.
His self-styled image as a seasoned UN diplomat has also come under fire. According to former UN peacekeeping officials, Herath served merely as a seconded police officer with no official UN diplomatic status.
Questions have also emerged about Herath’s academic qualifications, with overlapping timelines between his claimed postgraduate education and UN deployments casting doubt on their authenticity. Furthermore, no record of an undergraduate degree, a requirement for postgraduate study, has been verified.
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