Lal Wijenayake: Leading Lawyer, Left Leader

Colombo Telegraph reports that Lal Wijenayake, a senior lawyer and left-wing political figure, died in Kandy on Saturday, October 31, at age 87. The outlet says he had been in good health for his age and walked around the lake on Friday, before falling ill the next day and being taken to Asiri Hospital, where he died.

Colombo Telegraph reports that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake went to Kandy on Sunday to pay his respects. The outlet also describes a social-media tribute from cricketer Kumar Sangakkara, who knew Wijenayake from childhood through Sangakkara’s father, a professional colleague and family friend.

According to Colombo Telegraph, Wijenayake was from Kandy and spent his early years on tea estates, where his father worked as an apothecary. The outlet says he learned Tamil and retained a strong connection to estate communities and their workers. He attended Dharmaraja College in Kandy, then studied physical sciences at Peradeniya, graduating in 1965.

Colombo Telegraph reports that Wijenayake taught after university, later turned to legal studies and became an advocate in 1969. He joined the Lanka Sama Samaja Party Youth League while a university student. The outlet says he and Kumar David were the youngest delegates at the LSSP’s 1964 conference, associated in its account with the emergence of coalition politics.

Colombo Telegraph describes Wijenayake as a lifelong LSSP member who helped facilitate the JVP’s evolution from a rebellious group in the 20th century into the democratic National People’s Power of the 21st century. It also notes that Professor Vijaya Kumar joined the LSSP a year or two after Wijenayake and that both retained their membership.