Departures of note

Eliyantha White, a Sri Lankan shaman who claimed to cure illnesses through herbs and spirits, died of COVID-19 on 22 September 2021, despite having claimed to have developed a cure for the virus. He was 50. His death, at a private hospital in Colombo, underscored the controversies that had long surrounded his unorthodox treatments.

White, of British heritage, grew up in Kalubowila, Sri Lanka, and said he began treating people at age 12, claiming to materialise medicine through the spirits of Rishis. He studied traditional medicine in Sri Lanka and India. He first treated patients at Eeyamporuwa Temple in Madiwela, where his popularity grew so much that he was reportedly treating over a thousand patients a day, always free of charge.

His fame drew international attention. In March 2010, he invited David Beckham to Sri Lanka for treatment of an injury, saying he could have him back on the field in three days; it is unclear whether Beckham accepted. He treated several world leaders and many cricket players, including Sachin Tendulkar, Lasith Malinga, and Kumar Sangakkara, as well as Bollywood actors Salman Khan and Bipasha Basu. In April 2012, Sri Lankan parliamentarians from both sides praised his abilities and requested more security for him.

White's methods were also disputed. In May 2011, cricketer Upul Tharanga failed a dope test, and it was rumoured that medication White had given him contained a banned substance. The Sri Lankan sports minister confirmed White had treated Tharanga, though Tharanga did not officially confirm it, and he had also seen other doctors. The ICC's Independent Anti-Doping Tribunal later discussed whether White's medicine might have contained banned substances. Claims that White was the Sri Lankan president's personal physician were sometimes disputed.