Namal Rajapaksa | |
|---|---|
| ලක්ශ්මන් නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ நாமல் ராஜபக்ஷ | |
 Namal in 2010 | |
| Minister of Youth and Sports | |
| In office 12 August 2020 – 3 April 2022 | |
| President | Gotabaya Rajapaksa |
| Prime Minister | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| Preceded by | Dullas Alahapperuma |
| Succeeded by | Thenuka Vidanagamage |
| Member of Parliament forNational List | |
| Assumed office 21 November 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament forHambantota District | |
| In office 22 April 2010 – 24 September 2024 | |
| Majority | 166,660 Preferential Votes |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lakshman Namal Rajapaksa (1986-04-10)10 April 1986 (age 39) |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Political party | Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Mahinda Rajapaksa (father) Shiranthi Rajapaksa (mother) |
| Residence(s) | Colombo and Hambantota |
| Alma mater | S. Thomas' College City University London Sri Lanka Law College |
| Occupation | Lawyer,Politician |
Lakshman Namal Rajapaksa (Sinhala:ලක්ශ්මන් නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ,Tamil:நாமல் ராஜபக்ஷ; born 10 April 1986; known asNamal Rajapaksa) is a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician.[1] He is the eldest son of formerPresident and formerPrime MinisterMahinda Rajapaksa and a member of parliament.[2][3][4][5] He was theMinister of Youth and Sports from 2020 to 2022.
Rajapaksa was born on 10 April 1986.[6] He is the son ofMahinda Rajapaksa andShiranthi (née Wickremesinghe).[7] He has two younger brothers –Yoshitha andRohitha.[8] His paternal grandfatherDon Alwin Rajapaksa was a member of parliament and Minister of Agriculture and Land inWijeyananda Dahanayake'sgovernment.[9]
Rajapaksa was educated atS. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia,[10][11] where he captained the school's 1st XV rugby team. After school, Rajapaksa attendedCardiff University to study law.[12][13] He then went toCity University London from where he graduated in September 2009 with athird-class degreelaw degree.[9][14][15]
Rajapaksa then joinedSri Lanka Law College to qualify as anattorney at law. He sat for the college's preliminary exam in October 2009 and passed with second-class honours.[16] It was alleged that Rajapaksa sat the exam in a special cubicle that was set aside for him and the college's principal accompanied him.[17][18]
In December 2010, several media sources reported that Rajapaksa had allegedly received preferential treatment during his final examination at Sri Lanka Law College.[19][20][21] A fellow law student, Thushara Jayarathna, alleged that Rajapaksa had been given a separate room along with an internet enabled computer, later filing a complaint with the Law College examination system, Keselwaththa police station and theSupreme Court.[20]
Media and NGO sources reports that Jayarathna's complaints were largely ignored or rejected,[22] although he appeared before the college authorities early in January 2011.[20] After the incident, sources reported that Jayarathna had been allegedly abducted and beaten up by thepolice, and that he also received multiple death threats traced to the police[21] and the college.[22][23][24]
According to the principal of the college, an investigation had been held but it concluded that the allegations "were based on hearsay" and "unfounded".[25] Although the official investigation didn't find anything irregular, the threats against Jayarathna have not been investigated.[22] The Colombo Telegraph reported that the consequences of Jayarathna's reporting wasn't unusual and that he is one of several others who have been harassed or persecuted after filing complaints against the ruling family or the police.[20]Chief JusticeAsoka de Silva also questioned the investigation, saying "we have only one Law College in Sri Lanka. If there are suspicions over its credibility, it will affect the whole profession."[19]
Rajapaksa was sworn in as anattorney at law on 15 December 2011 in front of a panel of Supreme Court judges includingChief JusticeShirani Bandaranayake.[26][27]
Rajapaksa played rugby forS. Thomas' College, representing the school at all age groups: under 9s, 13s, 15s and 17s. In 2000, he led the Sri Lankan national under 16 team.[28] Rajapaksa first played for the school's senior team in 2002 and captained the 1st XV team in 2005.[28] He also led the Sri Lanka under 19 team in 2004.[28]
When he joined Cardiff University, he played in the university's rugby team from 2005 to 2006. He also played for City University London from 2006 to 2009. In 2009, he first played for theNavy SC, who he captained in 2010–2011.[28] In 2010, Rajapaksa was invited to play for theSri Lanka national rugby union team and in 2013 was appointed the team's captain,[29] a position he retained until he retired from competitive rugby in July 2014.[30][31]
Rajapaksa contested the2010 parliamentary election as one of theUnited People's Freedom Alliance's candidates in theHambantota District and was elected toParliament.[32] Rajapaksa's father had been an MP for the Hambantota District for 16 years before he waselected president in 2005.
Many believed that Rajapaksa was being groomed to succeed his father as president.[33][34] Rajapaksa was often seen at state events and was chief guest at several ceremonies inaugurating new roads, bridges, schools and other government buildings.[4][9] Although Rajapaksa held no government position at the time, he made numerous official foreign trips, sometimes accompanying his father.[4] In January 2011, Rajapaksa led a parliamentary delegation toLibya and met withMuammar Gaddafi.[35] Rajapaksa also made official trips to theUnited Nations Headquarters (September 2010),Nepal (March 2011),Palestine (February 2012),[36]Japan (March 2012),[37]South Korea (April 2012),[38] theUnited States (May 2012),[39]China (May 2013)[40] andAustralia (June 2013).[41] Rajapaksa also ledHambantota'sunsuccessful bid to host the2018 Commonwealth Games.[4][9] Rajapaksa was a key figure of his father's unsuccessful2015 presidential campaign. He was accused by many for his father's downfall and the misuse of public funds.[42]
He was re-elected to Parliament in2015 and2020. In 2020, he was appointed as theMinister of Youth and Sports by his uncle, PresidentGotabaya Rajapaksa. However, he resigned from the position during the mass resignation of theSecond Gotabaya Rajapaksa cabinet amidst the2022 Sri Lankan political crisis.
Rajapaksa was appointed as the National Organizer of theSri Lanka Podujana Peramuna on 27 March 2024.[43] On 7 August 2024, the SLPP announced Rajapaksa as its candidate in the2024 presidential election. He was the youngest candidate in the election.[44] Rajapaksa was eliminated after the first vote count, placing 4th behindAnura Kumara Dissanayake,Sajith Premadasa andRanil Wickremesinghe and winning only 2.57% of the popular vote.[45]
Rajapaksa did not run for re-election for his parliamentary seat in theHambanthota district in2024, instead contesting as a member of theNational List. This marks the first time in 88 years a member of his family did not contest from the district.[46]
Namal Rajapaksa and his brother Yoshitha started Tharunyata Hetak (A Tomorrow for Youth), a youth organisation, in 2005.[47] Rajapaksa is chairman of Tharunyata Hetak, Yoshitha is vice-chairman.[48][49] According to Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) Tharunyata Hetak spentRs. 172 million promoting Rajapaksa's father and his party during the 2010presidential and parliamentary elections.[50][51] Tharunyata Hetak receives significant funding from public bodies including theBank of Ceylon and National Lotteries Board both of which were under the control of Rajapaksa's father.[48]
Namal Rajapaksa was arrested by theFinancial Criminal Investigations Department (FCID) on July 11, 2016, on charges of money-laundering. This was in relation to the misuse of Rs 70 million that was given to him by an Indian real estate company in return for giving them premium land from the heart of Colombo CBD. According to his allies, the money was intended to be used for a rugby tournament but they have failed to prove how it was used. Rajapaksa allies claim the arrest as a politically motivated, but has no proof of how he earn the assets. The case is still pending.[52][53][54][55]
He was arrested on 10 October 2017 by the Hambantota Police with two other MP's for charges of unlawful assembly, causing damage to public property, injuring police officers, obstructing their duty and violating a court order.[56][57]
Carlton Sports Network is a sports, lifestyles and business television channel owned by Rajapaksa and his brother Yoshitha.[58][59] Rajapaksa was a shareholder in Ascot Holdings PLC, and in September 2011 he owned 92,000 shares (1.15%) in the company.[60][61] After Mahinda Rajapaksa's defeat in the2015 presidential election, the new government ofMaithripala Sirisena imposed a one-time tax ofLKR 1 billion on the sports television channel, claiming that the sports channel has not paid any money to the government since its inception.[62] CSN was allegedly favoured by the Rajapaksa government, which awarded it exclusive broadcast rights of several sports fixtures including cricket.[63] State-owned TV channel Rupavahini had a monopoly over cricket broadcasting rights in Sri Lanka until the advent of CSN.[64] The Rajapaksa government transferred sports broadcast rights to CSN by a cabinet decision with no open tender or any known competitive bidding process.[65] After Rajapaksa's defeat, the new government launched a probe into the rights deal.[66]
Namal Rajapaksa was investigated for money laundering after civil group Voice Against Corruption lodged a complaint against him to theFCID. According to the complaint, a company owned by Rajapaksa had purchased shares of another company using money obtained through methods violating the Money Laundering Act. As a result, the Colombo Chief Magistrate ordered several bank accounts related to the companies to be frozen for further investigation.[67][68]
In August 2016, an arrest warrant was placed through Interpol on Oranella Iresha Silva, a suspect in an inquiry conducted under the Money Laundering Act for purchasing LKR 100 million worth shares of a company named Hellocorp using allegedly ill-gotten funds by Namal's Gowers Corporation.[69] Controversial air hostess Nithya Senani Samaranayake ofSriLankan Airlines was also arrested and remanded in August 2016 for her role in NR Consultations and Gowers Corporation as a director. She was released from the Airline at the request of then-incumbent Secretary to the PresidentLalith Weeratunga to handle Rajapaksa's "special projects" but continued to receive her basic salary as well as a "productivity allowance" in addition to other perks and promotions. Samaranayake was paid approximately Rs. 70,500 per month by the Airline while an additional fee of approximately Rs. 87,500 was paid by the Presidential Secretariat. When inquired, Samaranayake was unable to describe the exact location where she worked except for a place inTemple Trees and not the Presidential Secretariat. Additionally, she was able to recollect the name of only one official at Temple Trees and no "special projects" were identified where she was attached to.[70][71][72] On 10 October 2017, Iresha Silva, who had been hiding inDubai, was arrested at the Katunayake Airport by theCID.[73]
Namal Rajapaksa was accused of being involved in the death ofWasim Thajudeen, a Sri Lankan rugby union player who played forHavelock Sports Club and the national team. Thajudeen was killed in a car crash on 17 May 2012 which was initially pronounced to be an accident but was later reopened as a murder investigation in 2015 following allegations by the victims family. Rajapaksa denied all allegations against him.[74][75][76]
In 2025, Namal Rajapaksa’s legal qualification became the subject of public scrutiny after the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Sri Lanka initiated an inquiry into allegations that he irregularly obtained his Attorney-at-Law qualification from Sri Lanka Law College.[77]The complaint, filed by the civil society organisation Citizens’ Power Against Bribery and Corruption, alleged that Rajapaksa received unauthorised assistance from two lawyers during his examinations.[78]
Several media investigations also raised questions regarding his entry into Sri Lanka Law College. Reports claimed that the degree Rajapaksa presented from City University, London was not among the institutions officially recognised by Law College at the time of his admission on 25 September 2009; the university was reportedly added to the recognised list only on 15 October 2009.[79]His Law College file allegedly contained only an academic transcript rather than a degree certificate, and a later certificate produced elsewhere was reported to carry the signature of Vice Chancellor Malcolm Gillies, who had already resigned by that date.[80][81]
Additional discrepancies were reported relating to the classification of the degree. The transcript showed a third-class pass, whereas the certificate indicated a “Class Three with Honours.”[79]Media outlets also noted that a third-class UK degree may not have met the Law College admission standard requiring a qualification that is accepted for entry to bar studies in its home jurisdiction.[79]
Concerns about preferential treatment had been noted earlier in 2010, when a fellow student alleged that Rajapaksa was allowed to sit certain examinations in a separate private room.[82]
Rajapaksa has denied all allegations, describing them as politically motivated and affirming his willingness to cooperate fully with the CID investigation.[83][84]
In February 2025, the Attorney General filed indictments against Rajapaksa in the Colombo High Court over allegations that he misappropriated Rs 70 million provided by Krrish Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. for the promotion of a rugby tournament. Investigators alleged that the funds were diverted for personal use. Rajapaksa was granted bail with two sureties of Rs 10 million each and a cash bail of Rs 100,000.[85][86]
Two Colombo High Court judges—Manjula Thilakaratne and Sujeewa Nissanka—recused themselves from hearings related to the Krrish case, citing concerns about social media commentary and maintaining judicial impartiality.[87]
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) concluded an investigation into alleged money laundering involving Rajapaksa’s investment of Rs 15 million in NR Consultancy (Pvt) Ltd. Investigators claimed that the funds were sourced unlawfully. The CID forwarded the case file to the Attorney General’s Department for further action.[88][89]
Rajapaksa was previously charged in relation to alleged financial irregularities involving Gowers Corporation (Pvt) Ltd. In November 2023, the Colombo High Court acquitted him of all charges.[90]
Namal married Limini Weerasinghe on 12 September 2019 atGangaramaya Temple.[91][92][93] Their first son was born in 2020.[94] The couple had their second child in August 2023.[95]
| Central (25) |
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern (16) |
| ||||||||
| Northern (13) |
| ||||||||
| North Central (14) |
| ||||||||
| North Western (23) |
| ||||||||
| Sabaragamuwa (20) |
| ||||||||
| Southern (25) |
| ||||||||
| Uva (13) |
| ||||||||
| Western (47) |
| ||||||||
| National List (29) |
| ||||||||
| Central (25) |
| ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern (16) |
| ||||||||||||||
| Northern (13) |
| ||||||||||||||
| North Central (14) |
| ||||||||||||||
| North Western (24) |
| ||||||||||||||
| Sabaragamuwa (20) |
| ||||||||||||||
| Southern (25) |
| ||||||||||||||
| Uva (13) |
| ||||||||||||||
| Western (47) |
| ||||||||||||||
| National List (29) |
| ||||||||||||||
| Central (25) |
|  | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern (16) |
| ||||||||||||||
| Northern (12) |
| ||||||||||||||
| North Central (14) |
| ||||||||||||||
| North Western (23) |
| ||||||||||||||
| Sabaragamuwa (20) |
| ||||||||||||||
| Southern (25) |
| ||||||||||||||
| Uva (13) |
| ||||||||||||||
| Western (48) |
| ||||||||||||||
| National List (29) |
| ||||||||||||||
