A photo of Namal Rajapaksa with ‘Kajja’?

With the murder of Aruna Widanagama, who was popularly known as ‘Kajja’, a photo was shared in social media stating that it was taken when he worked as the driver of Mr. Namal Rajapaksa. He is also said to have disclosed controversial information regarding the Rajapaksa family. This is an investigation we did to find the accuracy of these facts.

Social Media Posts

A photograph of Mr. Namal Rajapaksa with ‘Kajja’ was circulated on social media, after he was murdered in Middeniya area, claiming that he worked as the driver of Namal Rajapaksa.

Facebook | Archived Link  Facebook | Archived Link

This is how it was widely circulated through social media.

Based on the requests we received to check the accuracy of this photo, we took steps to investigate whether the person in the photo is ‘Kajja’ aka Aruna Widanagamage.

Fact Check

Aruna Widanagamage, who was also known as ‘Kajja’, was shot and murdered on 18^th February night, while he was riding in his motorcycle. His 6-year-old daughter, who was travelling with him at the time of the incident, died of injuries from the attack, and his 9-year-old son, who was in a critical condition, died after being admitted to the hospital.

About a year ago, he had participated in a YouTube program conducted by journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrama, revealing that he was known as the ‘Rajapaksa’s executioner’(“රාජපක්සගේ අලුගෝසුවා”) who would commit any murder for the ‘Rajapaksa family’. 

As a result of this, the above photo is being shared on social media with the claim that Aruna Widanagamage was Namal Rajapaksa’s driver. Therefore, we checked the credibility of the photo.

We checked the Facebook account of Aruna Widanagamage, and when comparing his posted photos on Facebook, we could see that his appearance is completely different from the person in the circulating photo.

Accordingly, we checked on the photo which is circulating, and there we got to know that the person who is with Namal Rajapaksa is not Aruna Widanagamage, but a person named Nuwan Lasantha Wijenayake.

Archived Link

From the year 2022, Mr. Namal Rajapaksa and his photos can be seen through his Facebook account, and among them we can see photos of him seated in the driver’s seat and Namal Rajapaksa in the passenger seat. Below are some of those photos.

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However, through that it is clear that it is another person who is being claimed as ‘Kajja’ in the circulating photo.

Also, Nuwan Lasantha Wijenayake, who is in the photo, has filed a complaint in the Ipalogama Police station regarding the misuse of his photo.

Facebook | Archived Link

However, we inquired the Police OIC of Ipalogama Police Station in this regard.

Ipalogama Police Officer In Charge

The Police Officer In Charge of Ipalogama police station confirmed that a person named N.L. Wijenayake has submitted a complaint and a letter stating that he is the driver of Mr. Namala Rajapaksa, and that his photo is being misused in social media falsely claiming him as the person named ‘Kajja’.

MP Namal Rajapaksa

We asked Namala Rajapaksa regarding this, and he stated that the person who is claimed as ‘Kajja’ in a photo circulated in social media is his driver, Nuwan Lasantha Wijenayake. He further said that by spreading such false information, some people are trying to misdirect the investigations.

Also, he sent us the complaint filed by his driver at the Ipalogama police station and the letter that he submitted.

In the letter he has stated that he is the driver of MP Namal Rajapaksa, and a photo he posted on Facebook is misused by social media users by claiming him as the person named ‘Kajja’, for political gain and to slander Namal Rajapaksa.

Furthermore, he has mentioned that due to the misuse of his photo, he is facing various accusations and criticisms and pressure form the society. It is also stated that due to that, the life of his wife and children may also be threatened which will also cause a social opposition and a scandal.

It is further stated that since the photo also includes the MP Namal Rajapaksa, his reputation will be damaged and there will be protests and threats.

Below is the letter addressed to the Ipalogama OIC.

We tried to contact Nuwan Lasantha Wijenayake by telephone to confirm the information in this regard, but the attempt was unsuccessful. We look forward to update this article with his response in this regard.

Note: We are only pointing out the facts regarding the above photo circulated on social media.

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Conclusion

Our investigation points out that the photo which was circulated in social media claiming as MP Namal Rajapaksa with his driver ‘Kajja’, is not actually a photo of ‘Kajja’, aka Aruna Widanagamage but a person named as Nuwan Lasantha Wijenayake, who is actually the driver of Namal Rajapaksa.