The ‘Sivurata Yukthiya’ (Justice for the Robe) march demanding the release of Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero set off from near the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy on October 10, 2026, and reached Colombo on October 15. About two weeks later, on October 30, a monk in sunglasses carrying a wooden staff carved in the shape of a cobra, known as “Ratnapura Bodhidhamma Thero”, began his own walk from Kandy to Colombo, called the “March to Unite Sinhala Buddhists”.
The same day, posts claimed he was no real monk but Greshan Keraminiyage, a former SLPP (Pohottuwa) member of the Ambalangoda Municipal Council. Keraminiyage was the face of ‘Pahanata Thel’, which literally means ‘oil for the lamp’, the movement he represented in 2021. So, are the two men in these photos one person or two? We checked. These are the posts that spread the claim.
Social Media Posts:
One post placed a photo of a man dressed in white, palms together in worship, on the left, and a monk holding a snake headed stick in front of TV microphones on the right. The caption read: “The one who has turned up in a robe with a snake staff in hand is Greshan Keraminiyage, who ran errands for the Rajapaksas under the ‘Pahanata Thel’ National Movement and was chased out of Elpitiya with cinnamon sticks.”
Other posts set a photo of Keraminiyage taken from a 2021 news broadcast beside the marching monk, with captions such as “‘Pahanata Thel’ native doctor ‘Greshan’, this time as a robe-wearer”. Some shared it alongside photos of the Rajapaksas with the line “Not even six hours passed… that game is busted too.” One website even published an article presenting this as an “established” fact (here).
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Claim Under Investigation:
Whether the monk who began a march from Kandy to Colombo on October 30, 2026, holding a snake staff, is Greshan Keraminiyage, a former SLPP Ambalangoda municipal councillor and founder of the ‘Pahanata Thel’ movement.
Fact Check:
The Man on the Left Is Greshan Keraminiyage of the ‘Pahanata Thel’ Movement
Greshan Keraminiyage became a talking point across the country in 2021. At the time, he was an SLPP member of the Ambalangoda Municipal Council and represented the ‘Pahanata Thel’ movement. On April 5, 2021, while he was staging a one-man protest in Batapola town, two local SLPP politicians confronted him.
A news video on the incident clearly showed his face with the caption: “Greshan Keraminiyage, Founder, Pahanata Thel National Movement, SLPP Ambalangoda Municipal Councilor.” The video is here. His facial features show that he is the man in the photo on the left of the viral post.
Greshan Keraminiyage Was in Balapitiya, in Civilian Clothes, on October 31
On the morning of October 31, a Facebook user posted a photo with Greshan Keraminiyage, saying it was taken “a moment ago” at the Balapitiya Pradeshiya Sabha, where he now works after stepping away from politics (here). The man in the jacket in that photo is clearly the same Greshan Keraminiyage seen in the 2021 news footage.
The Monk Said to Be Keraminiyage Is “Ratnapura Bodhidhamma Thero”
A news page published dated footage of the march’s launch on October 30 (here), headlined: “Holding a snake headed staff, Ratnapura Bodhidhamma Thero begins walk from Kandy to Colombo.”
The Thero chairs the “Bodhidhamma Manava Avihimsa International Human Rights Organisation”, whose Facebook page is here. The page has posts dating back to June 2025. A poster from July 2025 and a video shared in January 2026 show the same monk in robes, identified as “Ratnapura Bodhidhamma Hamuduruwo”. That confirms he had been appearing in public as a monk for months before this march.
Facial Comparison Shows Two Different Men
Bodhidhamma Thero responded to the viral posts in this interview.
In the viral photos, the monk wore sunglasses, so his face was hard to see. In an interview published on October 31, however, Thero took off his glasses and faced the camera (from 15:58 to 16:13). That moment shows real differences between him and Keraminiyage.
Below, two photos of Greshan Keraminiyage, from 2021 and 2026, are set beside Bodhidhamma Thero’s face without sunglasses. The shape of the face, nose, lips, teeth, and ears are clearly different. A shaved head and dark glasses can make two slim men look alike, but this comparison shows they are two different people.
“I First Heard the Name Greshan Keraminiyage Today” – Bodhidhamma Thero
On October 30 , the Thero’s organisation posted a video titled “Official Media Statement”, saying he would take legal action over the false and defamatory propaganda being spread about him.
In an interview with a YouTube channel on October 31, the Thero said he had only heard of a person called Greshan Keraminiyage that day, and that the social media posts had been made using his photo. He said he was ready for a legal inquiry if anyone had doubts and was happy to take off his glasses and show his face.
Greshan Keraminiyage Confirmed the Posts Were False
We contacted Greshan Keraminiyage by phone. He said false information was circulating that mixed him up with Ven. Bodhidhamma Thero, and that he now works at the Balapitiya Pradeshiya Sabha. He added that he has stepped away from politics.
Why the Claim Spread
Greshan Keraminiyage is a real person. The news report above confirms he is a former SLPP municipal councilor who represented the ‘Pahanata Thel’ movement. In 2021, his unusual statements and protests turned him into a figure of fun on social media. A few days after the march for Gnanasara Thero, this much smaller march, led by a monk in sunglasses with a snake staff, drew the same kind of mockery. Both men are slim and look somewhat alike, and that was enough for posts to present them as the same person.
Many of these posts were shared in groups supporting a political party, framing the march as a “Rajapaksa game”. Criticizing the march or the Thero’s views is one thing. Identifying the monk as someone else entirely is a claim with no evidence behind it, and it can harm two separate people.
Our fact-check of an AI-generated photo linked to the Gnanasara Thero march is here.
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Conclusion:
The monk who began a march from Kandy to Colombo with a snake headed staff on October 30 is not former SLPP Ambalangoda municipal councilor Greshan Keraminiyage. He is “Ratnapura Bodhidhamma Thero”, who has appeared in robes on social media since 2025. Keraminiyage’s face in the 2021 news footage and in the October 31 Balapitiya photo is clearly different from Thero’s face without sunglasses. Their similar build is what gave rise to the misleading posts.
When we contacted him, Greshan Keraminiyage said the posts identifying the monk as him were false, and Ven. Bodhidhamma Thero further confirmed that the photos in the posts show him.
