Wickramasekara killing: Exposing the rot in politics and policing

A Sri Lankan opposition politician was shot dead in his office last Wednesday (21), marking the country’s first political assassination in recent years and exposing once again the deep rot in our politics, policing, and governance.

Lasantha Wickramasekara (38), Chairman of the Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha, and a member of the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), was meeting constituents when an unidentified gunman entered his office under the pretext of getting a letter signed, drew a revolver and fired multiple shots. Wickramasekara, popularly known as ‘Midigama Lasa’, was rushed to the Matara General Hospital in critical condition but succumbed to his injuries. Police confirmed that a pistol was used in the attack.

The killing, captured on CCTV, shows the gunman calmly walking in, firing four rounds at point-blank range, and fleeing on a motorcycle. For a local government chairman to be executed inside his office in broad daylight is a chilling reminder of how fragile public safety remains, even for elected officials.

Sri Lanka has witnessed a surge in violent crime this year, much of it attributed to drug syndicates and organized gangs. Official figures show over 100 shootings and at least 50 deaths, yet little progress in dismantling the networks that sustain such violence. The brazen daylight killing of Wickramasekara, however, represents something more sinister, a possible intersection of underworld influence and local politics.

This is not an isolated act of vengeance; it is a symptom of a system where the boundaries between politics, crime, and impunity have blurred. It is also the first political assassination since President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s government came to power, pledging to restore law and order.

Predictably, the murder has descended into a political free-for-all, with the opposition accusing the government of turning a blind eye to growing lawlessness, and the government insisting the killing was the result of an underworld feud. In fact, Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala wasted no time declaring in Parliament that Wickramasekara had underworld connections and was therefore targeted by a rival gang.

The statement was appallingly premature. Not only did it insult the memory of a man who had just been murdered, but it also undermined the impartiality of an ongoing investigation. The Opposition has rightly condemned it as an attempt to justify the killing and vilify the victim.

If only both sides could resist the urge to weaponize tragedy. Instead of scoring political points, they should be demanding answers to the real questions: Why was a local government official unprotected despite reporting threats to his life? Why did the police not act on his letter to the Inspector General of Police seeking protection? And how did an armed man so easily enter a local government office and carry out an execution?

When the suspected gunman was arrested in Colombo on Sunday (26), the police turned what should have been a serious criminal inquiry into a public spectacle. Cameras rolled as officers interrogated the suspect in full view of the media. He confessed on camera that he was acting on orders from an underworld figure known as ‘Dubai Lokka’, in return for money.

If true, this admission raises more questions than answers. The police claimed that the suspect had earlier escaped during a raid in Kekirawa, which was conducted with support from the Special Task Force (STF) and the army. How did a wanted killer slip through the hands of elite units conducting a ‘military-style’ operation? Either this was a stunning display of incompetence or a troubling case of complicity.

By parading the suspect before the cameras, the police compromised both the integrity of the investigation and the safety of witnesses. Their eagerness to validate the minister’s claim that this was merely a gang killing reeks of political obedience, not professionalism. Investigations should be conducted in the CID headquarters, not on live television.

It does not automatically follow that the involvement of an underworld figure like Dubai Lokka absolves the killing of political motives. Sri Lanka’s criminal networks have long functioned as hired guns for politicians, executing tasks too dirty to be done openly.

Makandure Madush, who deeply entangled in the political underworld nexus, was a case in point. His death in police custody conveniently silenced him before he could expose powerful connections. The same pattern of murky accountability now threatens to repeat itself in Weligama.

Even if Wickramasekara had enemies within the underworld, that cannot justify the State’s failure to protect him. The police claim he was part of criminal circles, yet they took no action against him while he was alive. Worse still, they ignored his plea for security.

Ironically, the same police force recently deployed personnel to guard a political party office in Yakkala that was seized by one faction from another. If resources can be spared to protect a disputed party office, why not the life of an elected representative facing credible threats?

The murder of Lasantha Wickramasekara is not just another headline, it is a mirror held up to a State that has lost control of its law enforcement apparatus. The government’s initial response was not to ensure justice, but to manage political fallout. The Opposition’s instinct was not to protect the integrity of the investigation, but to score points.

In the end, both sides expose the same rot: a political culture that values expediency over accountability, optics over truth, and loyalty over law.

If the State cannot protect an elected local government chairman from being killed in his own office, what chance do ordinary citizens have?

The government has a narrow window to prove that it still commands the rule of law. That means empowering an independent, professional investigation, without political interference, without public grandstanding, and without the media circus. It also means taking action against officers who ignored the victim’s earlier warnings.

President Dissanayake’s administration cannot claim to champion law and order while tolerating a police force that behaves like a propaganda arm. Public confidence will not be restored through statements or arrests alone. It will be restored when justice is seen to be done, impartially and transparently.

Sri Lanka has suffered too many assassinations, too many cover-ups, and too many broken promises. The death of Lasantha Wickramasekara must not become just another entry in that long, shameful list.

-ENCL