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Keheliya Rambukwella (Sinhala:කෙහෙලිය රඹුක්වැල්ල, Tamil:கெஹெலிய ரம்புக்வெல; born 21 September 1954) is a Sri Lankan politician, hotelier, film producer and former cabinet minister.[1] He has served in multiple ministerial posts, including the former Minister of Mass Media and Information, Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare, Minister of Water Supply and Drainage, Minister of Health and Minister of Environment.[2][3][4]
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Rambukwella was born and raised in Kegalle and received his education at St. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia. He is a professional hotelier, with a post graduate degree from the Hotel School. He holds a doctorate in Defense Studies. In 1979, Rambukwella became the youngest film producer in Sri Lanka, after producing his own Sinhala movie, Sakvithi Suvaya, featuring Gamini Fonseka in the lead role.[5] His son, Ramith Rambukwella, is a national cricket player.
Rambukwella claims that he was introduced to politics by Gamini Dissanayake when the UNP split under President Ranasinghe Premadasa. Keheliya joined the Democratic United National Front (DUNF) led by Lalith Athulathmudali. He later joined the United National Party and was elected to the parliament from the Kandy District in 2000, winning 154,403 preferential votes. In 2001, Rambukwella was reelected to the parliament.
In 2007, Rambukwella crossed over from the opposition to the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).[6] Rambukwella made an attempt to cross back to the UNP in 2015, however this attempt failed and he was forced to remain with Rajapaksa's faction of the SLFP, which ended up losing the 2015 election.
Accident and government grant
In February 2012, Rambukwella claimed to have "jumped"[7] from the balcony of a third-floor hotel room in Melbourne with the intention of reaching his companion, injuring his legs.[8] After receiving a direct aid of Rs. 20 million from the President's Fund to cover his medical expenses, he swiftly recovered from his injuries.[citation needed]
Arrest and resignation
In October 2023, the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) revealed forged documents were submitted for Customs clearance to procure a batch of vials containing human immunoglobulin which also failed to pass quality tests. It was claimed to have been produced by Livealth Biopharma Pvt Ltd. India and imported by a local medicine supplier called Isolez Biotech Pharma AG (Pvt) Ltd. However, the Indian manufacturer informed the NMRA that they did not manufacture or export the immunoglobulin batch. Around Rs. 130 million was believed to have been misappropriated. On 2 February 2024, Rambukella was arrested by criminal investigators in Colombo, alongside former Secretary to the Ministry of Health Janaka Chandragupta, and produced to Maligawatta courts. A judge ordered him to be remanded until 15 February.[9][10] Rabukwella resigned from his ministerial post on 3 February following public pressure.[11]
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