In 2012, he was appointed SLFP chief organizer of Pathadumbara by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, succeeding his father General Anuruddha Ratwatta.
[4] In September 2021 Lohan Ratwatte received negative publicity over an incident where he reportedly threatened Tamil political prisoners.
Using interpreters, he warned the prisoners not to betray the country to the UN or the Tamil diaspora since the UN was set to take up the island's human rights issues the following week.
On 8 June 2023, based on the report of the Justice Ministry’s Committee which found credible evidence of serious human rights violations during Ratwatte’s visit to the prison, the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR) called for Ratwatte to be investigated and prosecuted under the UNCAT for mistreatment of prisoners and under the ICCPR for “advocating national hatred constituting incitement to discrimination by harassment of Tamil detainees”.
[5][6][7][8][9] On 26 October 2024, Police seized an unregistered luxury vehicle from a residence belonging to Ratwatte's wife in Mirihana.