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Former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa returned to Sri Lanka on Sep. 3, after having fled the country on July 13 following massive street protests on July 9.

In exile

Rajapaksa initially fled to the Maldives, arriving in Singapore on July 14 while he was still formally president. He only resigned the presidency the day after.

He would spend 28 days in Singapore, having received a renewal to his Short Term Visit Pass midway through.

Rajapaksa had been travelling on a diplomatic passport issued to him by the Sri Lankan government, now under the control of Ranil Wickremesinghe, whom Rajapaksa had appointed prime minister after an initial wave of protests in April.

Rajapaksa eventually left for Thailand on Aug. 11, where he was granted permission to stay for 90 days. It appears he has not taken advantage of the whole time period, returning to Sri Lanka via Singapore after 25 days, according to the BBC.

Return to spender

According to the BBC, Sri Lankan leaders and activists do not oppose Rajapaksa's return, but are split on what should happen next.

Some are calling for the former president to face legal action for his alleged missteps as president, while others say that there is no personal enmity directed towards Rajapaksa, but only for the alleged corruption of his government.

The country remains mired in economic crisis; the BBC reports inflation is at 65 per cent.

Sri Lanka has reached a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a US$2.9 billion (S$4.1 billion) loan, but it would likely require the restructuring of the country's US$51 billion (S$71.6 billion) debt.

Economic crisis led to protests

Rajapaksa and his family, many of whom served as government ministers, are accused of having gravely mishandled the country's economy, leading to critical shortages of food, fuel, and medicines.

This resulted in hours, sometimes days, long queues at gas stations and rolling blackouts for over 18 hours a day.

Rajapaksa's brother Basil was the country's finance minister, and his elder brother Mahinda was a former president and prime minister.

Rajapaksa initially fled Sri Lanka after massive street protests overran the presidential residence and official offices, leading to scenes of protesters swimming in the residence's swimming pool, and going through his belongings.

Protests would turn ugly as the private residence of then-Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was set ablaze.

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Top image via Getty