Deshabandu Tennakoon found guilty

Set to become the first police chief to face impeachment in Sri Lanka’s history

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By Editor_1
IGP Deshabandu Tennekoon
Set to be sacked Deshabandu Tennakoon, will become the first head of police in the Sri Lanka’s history to be impeached after being deemed unfit to lead its 85,000-strong police force – File/ENCL

COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Deshabandu Tennakoon, is set to be removed from office following a unanimous finding of guilt by a parliamentary investigative committee. The announcement was made in Parliament on Tuesday (22) by Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne, who confirmed that Tennakoon is the first police chief in the country’s history to face impeachment.

The three-member committee, appointed under the Removal of Officers (Procedure) Act No. 5 of 2002, found Tennakoon guilty of all charges brought against him at an impeachment hearing and recommended his removal. The charges include criminal misconduct and gross abuse of the power of his office. The Speaker said the findings would be placed on the Parliament’s Order Paper as a resolution for debate and vote.

“This marks a historic moment in our constitutional journey – the first time in the history of the Republic of Sri Lanka that such a committee has submitted its findings recommending the removal of an Inspector General of Police,” Wickramaratne said.

The findings of the committee, chaired by Justice Padman Surasena, Judge of the Supreme Court, with Justice Neil Iddawala, Judge of the Court of Appeal, and Lalith Ekanayake, Chairman of the National Police Commission, serving as members, were submitted in accordance with Section 8(2) of the Act, Wickramaratne said, adding that a resolution for Tennakoon’s removal will be presented to Parliament.

An impeachment vote will be scheduled and is expected to pass in the 225-member parliament, where President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s government holds a two-thirds majority.

Tennakoon was appointed police chief in November 2023, despite Sri Lanka’s highest court ruling that he had tortured a suspect in custody by rubbing menthol balm on the victim’s genitals.

He is also accused of authorizing a controversial police operation in Weligama in 2023, which resulted in a fatal gunfight between two police units. One police officer was killed during the incident.

Sri Lanka’s apex court suspended him in July 2024, pending the outcome of a separate case that questioned the legality of his appointment by former president Ranil Wickremesinghe.

A state prosecutor told the court this year that Tennakoon was the “head of a criminal network”.

Wickramaratne, tabling the English version of the committee report in Parliament, said it would be printed in all three official languages – Sinhala, Tamil, and English – and that a soft copy would be uploaded to the Parliament website.

According to the Speaker, Parliament is now required to consider and vote on the resolution to remove Tennakoon, in line with Section 17 of the Removal of Officers (Procedure) Act.

The proceedings against Tennakoon come shortly after the dismissal of Senior Deputy Inspector General Nilantha Jayawardena, the second-highest-ranking officer in the police force. Jayawardena was removed by the National Police Commission for negligence connected to the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, which killed 279 people.

-ENCL

 

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