Saturday 25th July, 2026 The Opposition’s no-faith motion against Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara was debated and defeated yesterday. Nobody expected its passage by any stretch of the imagination. Notwithstanding the defeat of the no-faith motion,…
Saturday 25th July, 2026 The Opposition’s no-faith motion against Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara was debated and defeated yesterday. Nobody expected its passage by any stretch of the imagination. Notwithstanding the defeat of the no-faith motion, some of the points raised by the Opposition during yesterday’s debate are valid. The Negombo Prison riots which claimed 31 lives including those of 10 officers and caused extensive damage to state property could have been prevented if the warring inmates had been transferred to other prisons after their first clash. Why the two violent groups were kept together thereafter defies comprehension. As a prison officer told Minister Nanayakkara at the Prison Headquarters, the incident could have been nipped in the bud. There were serious lapses on the part of the prison authorities and the government, and they cannot absolve themselves of the blame for the loss of life. However, it is not fair to hold the incumbent government responsible for all chronic prison ills. Overcrowding, which is one of the main causes of prison unrest and violence, is not of recent origin. It has been reported that Sri Lanka’s prison system, designed to accommodate around 11,000 inmates, is currently holding more than 42,000 prisoners, resulting in severe overcrowding and placing immense pressure on prison infrastructure and staff. Prisons are also characterised by a chronic shortage of officers. These issues would not have arisen if the previous governments had taken action to expand the prison system and recruit more personnel. SJB MP Ajith P. Perera told Parliament during yesterday’s debate that there were about 42,000 inmates in the country’s prisons, and out of them more than 30,000 were drug offenders. In other words, the previous governments carried out anti-narcotics campaigns without increasing the prison capacity to hold more suspects and convicts. MP Perera revealed that more than 15,000 people were languishing behind bars as delays on the part of the Government Analyst’s Department (GAD) had prevented them from obtaining bail. This amounts to a blatant violation of their human rights. It is an indictment of all political parties that have been in power. As the old saying goes, when one finger is pointed at another, three fingers point back at the accuser; criticism of others should be accompanied by self-reflection. GAD is reportedly experiencing a shortage of personnel and other resource constraints. Why didn’t the previous governments solve these problems? What action has the incumbent administration taken to resolve them? Are there reasons other than resource shortages for GAD’s failure to submit reports to courts expeditiously? It is hoped that the government and the Opposition will stop trading allegations and make a joint effort to ensure that suspects are not held on remand due to institutional delays and lapses. Meanwhile, the defeat of a no-faith motion does not necessarily translate into the exoneration of the minister against whom it is moved. As for Minister Nanayakkara, the issue has now moved beyond Parliament into the court of public opinion. It will not go away, as evident from the fate that befell Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and those who circled their wagons around him and defeated the motion of no confidence moved against him for fraudulent procurement of drugs, etc., during the previous government. Rambukwella was arrested, remanded and prosecuted. He now has court cases to contend with. Most of those who defended Rambukwella either lost their seats at the last general election or did not have the courage to contest it. This is something the present-day rulers should bear in mind. Those who do not learn from history are said to be doomed to repeat it.
