A. H. M. Fowzie
Former Minister of Disaster Management; former Member of Parliament · Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB)
2
Legal matters
0
Investigations
0
Charges pending
0
Acquitted / dismissed
1 matter convicted or under appeal — see the Cases tab for the breakdown.
Next in court
Not publicly confirmed
A. H. M. Fowzie was convicted in 2024 (2 years imprisonment suspended for 10 years; fines totaling Rs. 400,000 reported by CIABOC).
Corruption case concerning use of a Toyota Land Cruiser valued around Rs. 19.5 million and government expenditure of approximately Rs. 1,073,334.93 on its maintenance.
The full running account, event by event, is in the Timeline and Court Cases tabs below.
A. H. M. Fowzie legal timeline
- 29 September 2026Dutch-donated vehicle fundamental rights…
Hearing
The Supreme Court (Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, Justices Janak de Silva and Arjuna Obeyesekere) delivered judgment in the fundamental-rights petition filed by Chandra Jayaratne, holding that Fowzie's personal use of the Dutch-donated Disaster Management vehicle violated Article 12(1). He was ordered to pay about Rs. 6.6 million (Rs. 1,664,334.93 within one month, with the balance to follow) and to publish a public apology with a photograph of the vehicle in three newspapers.
Read more (1 more paragraph)Show less
This is a non-criminal ruling, not a conviction.
Court: Supreme Court
- 27 August 2024Disaster Management Land Cruiser corrupt…
Convicted
On 27 August 2024 the Colombo High Court convicted A. H. M. Fowzie, a former minister, on his guilty plea in a Bribery Commission case over use of a Disaster Management Ministry Toyota Land Cruiser, a vehicle worth about Rs. 20 million that came from the Netherlands, and expenditure of nearly Rs. 1 million on its upkeep. He was sentenced to two years' rigorous imprisonment suspended for ten years and fined Rs. 400,000, with the court noting his early guilty plea and age of 86.
Court: Colombo High Court
Sources (3)
A. H. M. Fowzie court cases
2
Cases Total
1
Convicted
Disaster Management Land Cruiser corruption case
Corruption case concerning use of a Toyota Land Cruiser valued around Rs. 19.5 million and government expenditure of approximately Rs. 1,073,334.93 on its maintenance.
What’s happened
Suspended sentence, not current incarceration. On 29 Sep 2026 the Supreme Court, in a separate non-criminal fundamental-rights petition by activist Chandra Jayaratne concerning use of the Dutch-donated Disaster Management vehicle, held that Fowzie's use violated Article 12(1) and ordered him to pay about Rs. 6.6 million (reported by The Star as a US$20,000 fine) and publish half-page apologies in state newspapers; that is a civil/constitutional order recorded at a-h-m-fowzie-fr-vehicle and does not alter this matter's 2024 conviction or suspended sentence.
- Court
- Colombo High Court
- Sentence
- 2 years imprisonment suspended for 10 years; fines totaling Rs. 400,000 reported by CIABOC
- Next hearing / due
- No upcoming hearing announced
Dutch-donated vehicle fundamental rights case
Separate non-criminal fundamental-rights proceeding arising from the Dutch-donated Disaster Management vehicle. On 29 September 2026 the Supreme Court held that Fowzie's personal use of the vehicle violated Article 12(1) of the Constitution and ordered him to pay about Rs. 6.6 million and publish a public apology.
What’s happened
Civil/constitutional ruling only - not a criminal conviction and carries no custodial sentence. Petition filed by Chandra Jayaratne. Orders: Rs. 1,664,334.93 to the Consolidated Fund within one month (vehicle expenses) and the balance (reported as Rs. 5 million exemplary compensation) within two months; half-page apology with a photograph of the vehicle in Silumina, Sunday Observer and Thinakaran within one month.
Bench: CJ Preethi Padman Surasena, Janak de Silva (author) and Arjuna Obeyesekere. Deadlines run from 29 Sep 2026 and have not yet been reported as met.
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Next hearing / due
- Next hearing not confirmed
A. H. M. Fowzie in the news
In the news
Stories in the news feed that name A. H. M. Fowzie, with every outlet’s report of each grouped together. These are other outlets’ reports; what they say is not Nadu’s verified record.
No stories naming A. H. M. Fowzie in the news right now. New reports appear here as outlets publish them.
A. H. M. Fowzie political career
Ministerial positions
Former Minister of Disaster Management; former Member of Parliament
Dates not publicly confirmed
Other political positions
No other positions publicly confirmed.
A. H. M. Fowzie party history
Research places his crossover into the SLFP around 1973-74 and confirms him as the first SLFP Mayor of Colombo in 1974. The exact membership start date is therefore left unknown. The SLFP Central Committee expelled him in Nov 2019.
Sources (1)
Contested the 2020 parliamentary election from SJB and later served as an SJB MP (entering the Ninth Parliament in Jan 2023). The SJB Working Committee took disciplinary action against him on 8 May 2023 for voting with the government on the IMF/EFF facility against the party's position — some contemporary reports describe this as an outright expulsion rather than a suspension. No reinstatement was found; he continued sitting as an MP through the end of the Ninth Parliament (Sep 2024), which is not inconsistent with losing party membership while keeping a National List/individual seat.