Jayawickrama revealed that the late Chairman had written to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in August 2025, warning of a planned assassination attempt either outside court or at the Pradeshiya Sabha office and requesting protection.
“He requested protection. And you still believe he deserved to be killed?” he asked.
He charged that both the government and the National People’s Power (NPP) were attempting to exploit old allegations for political gain. “Everything the NPP is now bringing up was common knowledge six months ago. They ended up looking foolish after resorting to staged abductions and shootings to hold on to power,” he said.
Defending the slain Chairman, Jayawickrama said he had earned his post through a direct public mandate. “He won his ward in Midigama with 67% of the vote. He wasn’t handpicked through a national list — he was chosen by the people,” he noted.
Jayawickrama questioned how a person now branded a “known criminal” could have contested, won, and served under the same government that accuses him. “If these accusations are so old, how did he become Chairman under their watch?” he asked.
He further alleged that most of the cases against the late Chairman were filed during former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration by corrupt police officials. “Special protection for him and other SJB members was requested multiple times. The response? Silence,” he said.
Condemning the killing, Jayawickrama called it an extrajudicial execution. “He was killed inside his official workplace — the very chair he was elected to occupy. Everyone deserves their day in court,” he said.
“The duplicity is glaring,” he added. “One minute they preach ‘system change,’ the next they justify killings inside public offices. At this rate, everything under their watch will be brushed off as ‘underworld activity.’ And when the same system turns on them, there’ll be no one left to cry for them.”
