THE MALIMAWA GOVERNMENT PT 4C
Posted on July 26th, 2026
KAMALIKA PIERIS
The Negombo prison riot of July 2026, was the first time, that prison officers had been brutally attacked in Sri Lanka and murdered by prison inmates. Of those killed, eight belonged to the Prison Emergency Response and Tactical Unit, one was a jailor and two were prison guards.
Jagath Wickremasinghe, former Commissioner of Prisons, said in a television interview that he has not seen such an inhuman attack in all his years of service. It was not the usual attack, agreed a retired jailor, in another interview. This riot was different. It showed much hatred. The victims had been killed in a cruel manner.
The attackers had used lethal force. Post-mortem examinations conducted by a five-member Judicial Medical Board at the Negombo General Hospital confirmed that the prison officers died as a result of severe physical assaults. The victims had been subject to severe , brutal assaults. They had been stripped naked, placed face down on the ground and heavily beaten with poles and bludgeons. Their skulls had been split. Flowerpots, iron poles and huge rocks were used to crack the skulls. Items had been inserted into their private parts. Some private parts were cut.
The public, who were greatly perturbed by the killing of innocent prison officials, thought there was something fishy about this attack. They rejected the smooth explanation offered. Who got the Colombo unit down, they asked, who sent them unarmed into the prison. ‘Nivan suva labeva,’ they said, finally.
The Negombo riot was not a spontaneous eruption of anger regarding overcrowding or lack of facilities. Nor was it due to a clash between two narcotics gangs. It was a well-planned operation to inflict a murderous attack on prison officials.
The violence on July 6th against the prison officers was not spontaneous, said prison officials, when interviewed on television. An organized group of inmates was behind this.It was a planned operation, possibly directed from above.
CID told Negombo Magistrate that the attack had been carefully planned by a small, well-organized group. This group knew what they were doing. They had smashed the closed-circuit television cameras and destroyed the body scanner which detected narcotics hidden under clothing, taped to the body, or concealed inside body cavities.
Police had recovered weapons such as knives, machetes, scissors, metal spikes and wooden clubs from the crime scene. While some of the items were taken from the prison kitchen, many others had been improvised by inmates inside the prison.The stockpiling of these weapons indicates that the inmates had prepared in advance for a violent confrontation, police said. They were not giving in. Derana news of 9th July reported that the rioters had threatened to kill the officer who fired into the prison.
Critics have noted that when this attack took place, there was no Commissioner General of Prisons in office. Thushara Upuldeniya, Commissioner General of Prisons, was suspended on 9 June, 2025, over alleged release of prisoners taking advantage of general amnesty. Human Rights Commission recommended that he be reinstated but Justice Ministry Secretary refused to do so. The post is vacant. The post of Additional Commissioner of Prisons was also vacant.
Head of Negombo prison, Jeevaka Fernando was transferred in January 2026 to Boossa as its Head. Jeevaka, described as outstanding officer, had made the Negombo prison free of narcotics. He had treated the inmates well, recalled one inmate, he gave them good food. Gayan Tillekeratne the head jailor was transferred on July 1st.
This meant that the head and second-in-command in Negombo were absent when the riots occurred. Opposition noted in Parliament that Malimawa had removed the two senor-most officials from Negombo prison. The informant network in Negombo prison was now without protection.
The newspapers ignored the murder of prison officers and instead focused on the remand prisoners who were killed in the riot. In international law, if a prisoner dies in state custody, the state is responsible. United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka reminded Sri Lanka, after the riots, that the protection of prisoners is a fundamental responsibility of the State.
The newspapers focused on the difficulties prisoners faced in prison, due to overcrowding, which in turn led to reduced services. Prisoners are human beings with families and feelings, they said. Prisoners have rights. The Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners also spoke up. They asked for compensation on behalf of the prisoners who were killed. They ignored the fact that these prisoners were trying to break jail and escape from the prison. That is a punishable offence.
Further, some at least, of these rioting prisoners are guilty of first-degree murder. They attacked the prison officers with intention to kill. They are guilty of culpable homicide amounting to murder.
The Negombo magistrate who conducted the inquiry declared the events of July 6 to be a crime, and asked CID to inquire into it. CID reported that, with the help of CCTV data, it has identified around 75 inmates allegedly involved in the killing. Additional suspects are still being identified. [1]All those found responsible will face murder charges.
CID stated that all suspects identified in connection with the killings will be prosecuted under the charge of murder, as well as the Firearms Ordinance and the Public Property Act. Offenses had been committed under Sections 102, 113, 146, 186, 300, 315, 316, 317, and 344 of the Penal Code.
Television channels focused on the slain officers. I watched only two channels, but all news channels would have provided extensive coverage of this. Derana News showed photos of all the deceased officers, giving name, rank and designation. Newspapers commented on the excellent television coverage of the funerals. They observed that television footage captured the anguish of the families.
Derana news on 8.7.26 showed the coffins arriving at Welikada, prison officers weeping, close family hysterical with shock and grief. Then they showed the departure from Welikada, the arrival of each coffin at each home, to be received by distraught wives, parents and bewildered children. The next day, television cameras recorded all the burials. It was not easy to watch this.
Jagath Wickremasinghe, former Commissioner of Prisons said that those who died, were dedicated officers, very honest, rarely accused of irregularities. They could have taken bribes and lived well but their modest houses show that they have not taken that route. One child needs a heart operation and the father had to find the money.
Posthumous promotions have been granted to the prison officers who died in the riot.[2]The officers who died were registered members of the ‘Agrahara Gold’ insurance scheme and they would receive compensation from the National Insurance Trust Fund. The Government usually pays compensation when Government officers die while on duty. In this case the government intended to see whether further compensation could be paid. ( CONCLUDED)
REFERENCES
Derana news 14.7.26
Derana news 23.7.26
Derana news 24.7.26
Derana news 8.7.26
Derana news 9.7.26 https://youtu.be/5RCWidp2iK0
https://dailynews.lk/2026/07/08/features/1022865/drug-trade-leak-that-sparked-a-riot
https://dailynews.lk/2026/07/08/politics/1023146/parliament-113
https://island.lk/negombo-prison-bloodbath-autopsies-reveal-brutal-assaults/ 12.7.26
https://island.lk/negombo-prison-riot-no-convicts-among-21-inmates-killed/15.7.26
https://island.lk/opp-blames-prison-intelligence-for-mondays-riot-in-negombo/8.7.26
https://www.sundaytimes.lk/260712/news
https://youtu.be/01HbY1fEQ_8 senior jailor Nishantha Bandara Whispers channel https://youtu.be/NK3WE_c94nk //
https://youtu.be/4ek2Au-lQqk Truth with chamuditha . interivew with Jagath Wickremasinghe
https://youtu.be/8JXoynkCvsM Wanesa TV
https://youtu.be/8QHm42mX_BY ‘Truth with Chamuditha” Keerthi Ratnayhake
https://youtu.be/fKmQs9wOmZU Wanesa Jagath Wickremasinghe
https://youtu.be/i4Wk72ndTi8 @wanesa tv
[1] https://dailynews.lk/2026/07/13/breaking-news/1025354/over-75-inmates-involved-in-prison-clash-to-face-murder-charges/