Helping the Corrupt Can Be Dangerous

The Unfinished Story of Sepalika Saman Kumari

Colombo’s corridors of justice were buzzing this week — not about a new law, but about an old pattern: the quiet habit of helping the powerful.

Sepalika Saman Kumari, former Director General of the Office for Reparations and now an Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Justice, walked out of the Chief Magistrate’s Court on bail. Two sureties of one million rupees each were set, and the order was clear — she must stay away from the Office for Reparations.

The charge was serious. She is accused of approving an Rs. 8.5 million compensation payment to Moneragala District MP Shasheendra Rajapaksa for damage to property belonging to the Mahaweli Authority. The Board of the Office for Reparations had already rejected that request. Yet, while she served briefly as Acting Director General, the file moved again, and the payment went through.

The Bribery Commission says this was not a clerical error but an act of aiding and abetting corruption. The officials told court that more witnesses must be questioned and warned of possible interference if she were released.

Political Motivation 

Her lawyer, President’s Counsel Suhada Gamlath, told a different story. His client, he said, is a respected public servant with decades of service, a husband in public administration, and a daughter studying law. He claimed that the arrest was politically motivated and that the Bribery Commission had twisted the facts to create a scandal. The payment, he insisted, was approved through the proper committees, including a parliamentary committee.

The Chief Magistrate, Asanga S. Bodaragama, listened carefully. There was no evidence that Sepalika had gained financially. Her long service record and professional reputation weighed in her favour. Bail was granted, and the case was fixed for October 14.

But the larger question remains: when public officers bend under pressure from the powerful, who bends the rules, and who breaks them?

In Colombo’s quiet offices, the lesson whispers through the corridors — helping the corrupt can be dangerous, even for the dutiful.