“When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me.”

Lasantha Wickrematunge wrote these words in the weeks before his death, certain of what was to come, and wrote an editorial to be published posthumously. On 8th January 2009, masked assailants on motorcycles forced his car off the road in broad daylight on Templars Road, Mount Lavinia, and bludgeoned him to death.

Three days after his murder, the editorial was published in The Sunday Leader. Sixteen years later, no one has been convicted of his murder.

[Illustration of Lasantha]

Lasantha Wickrematunge co-founded The Sunday Leader in 1994, developing it into a newspaper known for investigating government corruption and documenting abuses during Sri Lanka’s civil war. His reporting on arms deals and war crimes drew direct criticism and threats from both President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Over the years, such threats escalated. For example, in 1995, masked assailants attacked him and his wife with clubs. Later, in November 2007, armed men stormed The Sunday Leader’s office, held staff at gunpoint, and set the printing press on fire. In the weeks before his death, he received a written death threat: “If you write, you will be killed.” 

The Investigation 

The problems with the investigation started immediately. The initial post-mortem examination was inconclusive, with medical teams disagreeing about the murder weapon. More troubling was what disappeared from the crime scene: Wickrematunge’s mobile phone, notebook, and a file of papers he had with him.

That notebook became critical. CID investigators believed it could provide vital evidence about his killers. But two senior police officers later testified that then-IGP Jayantha Wickramaratne allegedly ordered it confiscated and destroyed.

Between 2010 and 2013, nineteen suspects were arrested, including seventeen army officers. However, they were all released within three years. One died in prison; another was freed due to a lack of evidence. As such, the case was dormant for many years. 

Significant dates in the case

In a 2010 BBC interview, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was asked about the case. His response was dismissive: “Who is Lasantha Wickrematunge? He is just another person. There are so many murders everywhere.”

But Lasantha’s daughter, Ahimsa Wickrematunge, refused to let her father become another statistic.

In April 2019, she filed a civil suit in a California court against Gotabaya Rajapaksa, alleging he authorised her father’s killing by a military intelligence squad. The timing was striking as Rajapaksa was running for president of Sri Lanka.

The case was dismissed in October 2019 when the court granted him immunity as a former defence secretary. A month later, he won the presidency. In March 2020, the appeals court dismissed Ahimsa’s case without prejudice, noting that while Rajapaksa now had presidential immunity, the case could be refiled once he left office.

Back in Sri Lanka, investigators working on the case faced threats and arrests. Some fled the country.

In May 2022, the case saw a breakthrough. Nishantha Silva, the lead detective who investigated the murder in 2015, testified publicly for the first time at The People’s Tribunal in The Hague.  Silva had fled Sri Lanka after Rajapaksa’s election.

He provided detailed evidence that military intelligence personnel under the defence ministry’s command carried out the murder. Silva testified that Rajapaksa had command authority over the unit involved and a strong motive; the killing occurred shortly before Wickrematunge was scheduled to testify in a defamation suit Rajapaksa had filed against him.

In September 2022, the People’s Tribunal found the Government of Sri Lanka guilty of violating the right to life, freedom of expression, and freedom from discrimination based on political opinion.

The Latest Setback

In 2021, Jayantha Wickramaratne, the former IGP who allegedly ordered evidence destroyed, was appointed to the Office of Missing Persons, a body meant to investigate enforced disappearances. The appointment drew sharp criticism from victims’ families, including Ahimsa, who called it proof of “President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s contempt for victims.”

In October 2024, Sri Lanka’s newly formed government under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced it would reopen several high-profile cases, including Wickrematunge’s murder. It seemed like progress.

Then, in late January 2025, Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe informed the CID that legal proceedings would not continue against three key suspects, individuals directly implicated in either the murder or the cover-up.

The backlash was swift. Ahimsa called for the Attorney General’s impeachment. After public pressure, the Attorney General suspended his order two weeks later. Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya assured Parliament that the government is committed to securing justice.

Sixteen years after Lasantha Wickrematunge’s murder, the investigation has seen multiple arrests, yet no one has been convicted.