Kumar Ponnambalam

Death On the morning of 5 January 2000, at around 9.05 AM, a female suicide bomber blew herself up in front of the Prime Minister's Office on Sir Ernest de Silva Mawatha (Flower Road) in Colombo, killing 13 and injuring 29. Shortly afterwards there was tension in Colombo as Tamils feared reprisals. An unknown group calling itself the National Movement Against Tigers claimed responsibility for Ponnambalam's assassination and threatened to kill others who helped the LTTE, directly or indirectly. It is widely believed that the assassination was sanctioned by Kumaratunga.

According to The Sunday Leader, Ponnambalam's killing was organised by Baddegana Sanjeewa, a member of Kumaratunga's Presidential Security Division. Acting on Sanjeewa's instructions Reserve Police Constable Sugath Ranasinghe, posing as Shantha, became friendly with Ponnambalam. On the day of the killing, Shantha lured Ponnambalam to Wellawatte where gangsters M. A. Kalinga (alias Moratu Saman) and Tharawatte Ajith (alias Sujeewa) were waiting to kill Ponnambalam. In December 2000, The Sunday Leader claimed that it received a sworn affidavit from CDB director SSP Bandula Wickremasinghe, addressed to Kumaratunga, indicating that Mahendra Ratwatte was involved in Ponnambalam's killing. In February 2002, The Sunday Leader published a transcript of a telephone conversation between Ranasinghe and OIC Nuwan Wedasinghe of the Criminal Detective Bureau (CDB) which further implicated Mahendra Ratwatte in Ponnambalam's killing.

Ranasinghe, Moratu Saman and Sujeewa were eventually arrested by the police after which Ranasinghe implicated in Mahendra Ratwatte in Ponnambalam's killing. According to the police, the three detainees had confessed to killing Ponnambalam and Satana editor Rohana Kumara on a contract from a private party/patriotic group. Sanjeewa was shot dead on 2 November 2001, allegedly by Dhammika Perera, a member of the Sri Lankan mafia. Ranasinghe was shot dead on 20 August 2003 in Moratuwa as he returning from Moratuwa Magistrates's court in a rickshaw.

On 8 January 2000, the LTTE posthumously conferred the title Maamanithar (great human being) to Ponnambalam. His funeral was held on 9 January 2000 at the Kannate Hindu cemetery.

Ponnambalam was one of Colombo's wealthiest residents, owning a fleet of Mercedes-Benz cars. No one had been brought to justice for Ponnambalam's killing.

Electoral history + Electoral history of Kumar PonnambalamElectionConstituencyPartyVotesResult 1977 parliamentary Jaffna Ind Not elected 1982 presidential Sri Lanka ACTC Not elected 1989 parliamentary Jaffna District ACTC Not elected 1994 parliamentary Colombo District Ind Not elected