Gotabaya Rajapaksa Appears in Court to Give Testimony in Lalith-Kugan Disappearance Case

Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa made a court appearance on Wednesday before the Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court to provide testimony in the long-running case surrounding the disappearance of two young men, Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganandan, who went missing in 2011.

A Case That Has Haunted Sri Lanka's Post-War Chapter

The disappearance of Lalith and Kugan has remained one of the most prominent enforced disappearance cases in Sri Lanka's recent history. The two Tamil activists vanished in December 2011 while reportedly preparing to take part in a protest in Colombo. Despite years of inquiries and public pressure from human rights organisations, their whereabouts have never been officially established.

The case has long been associated with the period during which Gotabaya Rajapaksa served as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence under his brother, then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Critics and civil society groups have consistently called for accountability over alleged enforced disappearances carried out during that era.

Former President Takes the Stand

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who himself served as the country's President from 2019 until his resignation in 2022 amid the mass public uprising known as Aragalaya, arrived at the Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court to deliver his testimony as part of the ongoing judicial proceedings into the matter.

His appearance in court marks a significant moment in a case that families of the disappeared and human rights advocates have fought to keep alive for over a decade. The families of Lalith and Kugan have repeatedly appealed to the Sri Lankan justice system to uncover the truth behind what happened to their loved ones.

Calls for Justice Remain Loud

Human rights organisations both locally and internationally have cited the Lalith-Kugan case as emblematic of a broader pattern of enforced disappearances that took place in Sri Lanka, particularly in the years surrounding and immediately following the end of the civil war in 2009.

• Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganandan disappeared in December 2011.
• Both men were Tamil activists reportedly planning to join a demonstration at the time of their disappearance.
• The case has been subject to prolonged legal proceedings with families demanding accountability.
• Gotabaya Rajapaksa served as Defence Secretary at the time of the disappearances.

The proceedings are being closely watched by civil society groups, legal observers, and the families of the victims, who continue to seek answers after more than thirteen years of uncertainty and grief.

Further details of the testimony given by the former President are expected to emerge as the case continues before the Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court.

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