Marking the first time in the history of the island country that an Inspector General of Police has been impeached, Sri Lanka’s Parliament voted to remove Deshabandu Tennakoon, the chief of police.
Lawmakers wholeheartedly endorsed the decision on Tuesday to fire Tennakoon for gross abuse of authority and wrongdoing. Only one person abstained from voting.
Following a damning report by a parliamentary-appointed committee that convicted Tennakoon of 19 counts, the move is chief among them. One was his claimed involvement in a 2023 failed police raid at the W15 hotel in Weligama, where two distinct police forces met and a cop died. The report indicated Tennakoon “led the questionable, unlawful shooting” during the incident intended to intimidate the owner of the hotel.
Claiming Tennakoon ran a “criminal network” inside the police force—which has 85,000 personnel—a state prosecutor declared him unfit for service at any level.
Since the impeachment trial started last month, Tennakoon, 54, has not made a public statement.
Controversial appointment by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2023. Civil rights organizations and opposition lawmakers disagreed with the appointment based on past claims of wrongdoing. Before his elevation, the top court in Sri Lanka determined that Tennakoon tortured a detainee by putting menthol balm on the victim’s private parts.
