The Jayawijaya shooting investigation has entered a new phase after Indonesia’s Damai Cartenz Task Force identified two suspected perpetrators, known by the initials PN and KT, who are already on the police wanted list. Investigators say the two men were recognized after appearing in a video call with the family of one of the victims, providing a crucial lead in the case.
The identification has also widened the significance of the September 9 attack in Muliama, Papua Pegunungan. According to police, PN and KT are suspected members of the Kodap III Ndugama group led by Egianus Kogoya, a fugitive who has been linked by Indonesian authorities to several serious security cases in Papua.
Police say the two men are also suspected of involvement in the shooting of civilians during the Baliem Valley Cultural Festival in August and the 2023 hostage-taking of Susi Air pilot Philip Mark Mehrtens in Nduga. Those allegations remain part of ongoing legal investigations.
The latest development comes as security forces continue searching for the suspects and other people believed to have been involved in the Muliama attack.
Three Civil Servants Killed on Official Duty
The incident occurred on Wednesday, September 9, in Muliama District, Jayawijaya Regency, Papua Pegunungan.
The victims were employees of the Jayawijaya Agriculture Office who had been carrying out government duties in the field. They were identified as Alvonsius Albinus Mehan, 35, Alprida Rapi, 49, and Willi Mbuik, who was reported as 24 in several of the cited reports.
The group had been involved in agricultural and livestock activities, including checking land prepared for rice-field development and providing livestock-related assistance and guidance to communities.
According to reports cited by Jubi and RakyatPos, the three victims were travelling back toward Wamena with eight other colleagues when the group was attacked in Muliama.
The police investigation indicates that the attackers were armed. Initial information indicated that the perpetrators carried two long-barrel firearms and several machetes as they left the scene.
The attack did not only take three lives. It also struck at the work of local government employees who were travelling in the field to deliver agricultural programs and services.
For a region where transportation can be difficult and government services often require officials to travel through remote areas, the security of public servants has a direct connection with the ability of government programs to reach communities.
The Video Call That Became a Major Lead
The investigation took an unexpected turn after one or more suspected attackers reportedly used a victim’s phone to make a video call to the victim’s family.
The call later became one of the most important clues in the police investigation.
Images from the video circulated on social media. Rather than treating the footage simply as online material, investigators compared the faces and physical characteristics visible in the recording with information already held in police databases.
Kombes Pol. Yusuf Sutejo, head of public relations for the 2026 Damai Cartenz Operation, said the comparison enabled investigators to identify two people in the footage.
“After comparing them with the data and characteristics we have, we confirmed that the two people are PN and KT, who are on our wanted list,” Yusuf said, according to Jubi and RakyatPos.
ANTARA separately reported that PN and KT were the two individuals seen communicating through the video call and that both were subsequently identified as people already listed on the police wanted list.
The development is important because it transformed what initially appeared to be a broad search for unidentified gunmen into an investigation with specific names and previous case histories attached to two of the suspected perpetrators.
Police Identify PN and KT as Wanted Men
According to Indonesian security authorities, PN and KT are suspected members of the TPNPB Kodap III Ndugama group led by Egianus Kogoya, which Indonesian authorities refer to as an armed criminal group.
Jubi reported that police had already listed both men as DPOs, or people wanted, prior to the Muliama shooting.
Their status as DPOs is significant because investigators were not beginning from zero. Police already had information, physical descriptions, and case-related data concerning the two men. The video call provided an additional source that could be compared with that existing information.
Yusuf said investigators were continuing to pursue the suspects and determine their whereabouts.
He also stressed that the investigation was still being developed to establish the full chain of responsibility and identify others who may have participated in the attack.
That distinction matters. The identification of PN and KT as DPOs is a major investigative development, but it does not by itself constitute a final judicial determination that either man has been convicted of the Muliama killings.
Links to the Baliem Valley Festival Shooting
The police identification has also connected the Muliama case with another recent incident in Jayawijaya.
According to the Damai Cartenz Task Force, PN and KT are suspected of having links to the shooting that occurred during the Baliem Valley Cultural Festival on August 8, 2026.
The incident injured two civilians.
The festival is an important cultural event in Papua Pegunungan and attracts residents and visitors. Violence around such a public gathering therefore carries consequences beyond the immediate victims. It can affect public confidence, community activities, and the wider perception of safety in one of Papua’s important cultural and tourism areas.
Police say the alleged connection between the two DPOs and the festival shooting is among the cases being examined as part of their broader record.
ANTARA reported that the two men are suspected of involvement in the August shooting, while Jubi and RakyatPos also cited the same allegation from the Damai Cartenz Task Force.
A Link to the Susi Air Hostage Case
The investigation has also brought back a case that received international attention: the kidnapping and hostage-taking of Susi Air pilot Philip Mark Mehrtens.
According to the cited reports, PN and KT are suspected of being involved in the hostage case in Nduga, which began on February 7, 2023.
Mehrtens was eventually released on September 21, 2024, after more than a year in captivity.
The alleged connection places the Muliama investigation within a much longer pattern of security cases involving armed groups in Papua Pegunungan. It also explains why police consider PN and KT high-priority targets in the current investigation.
However, the claims concerning their involvement in previous cases remain allegations attributed to Indonesian security authorities. The role of each individual in those incidents would ultimately have to be established through evidence and due legal process.
Police Search for Eight Suspected Attackers
The identification of PN and KT does not mean investigators have closed the case.
Before the two DPOs were identified, police said they had obtained descriptions of as many as eight suspected attackers based on witness accounts and the examination of the crime scene.
Metro TV reported that investigators found three spent cartridges at the scene. Two were identified as 5.56 mm cartridges associated with long-barrel firearms, while another was a 9 mm cartridge associated with a short firearm.
Police also said witnesses indicated that the attackers numbered around eight and that at least two long-barrel firearms were visible during the assault.
Kombes Pol. Yusuf Sutejo said security forces had already begun pursuing the suspected perpetrators and reinforced personnel in Jayawijaya. About 50 additional personnel were moved from Timika and Lanny Jaya to strengthen the operation.
The investigation therefore remains broader than the two identified DPOs. Police are still attempting to determine who else was involved, what role each person played, and what motivated the attack.
Security and Public Services Are Closely Connected
The Muliama shooting also raises a broader issue for Papua: the relationship between security and development.
The three victims were not travelling for a private activity. They were carrying out government responsibilities involving agriculture, livestock, and rural development.
Agricultural programs are particularly important in Papua Pegunungan, where communities face geographical isolation, limited transportation infrastructure, and difficult access to markets and public services.
When government workers cannot safely reach communities, development programs can be delayed or disrupted. The consequences can extend beyond security statistics, affecting food production, livestock assistance, agricultural extension services, and the confidence of communities in public institutions.
This is why the response to the Muliama shooting involves both law enforcement and development aspects.
The Damai Cartenz Task Force has said that its objective is to restore public security while continuing enforcement according to legal procedures. Yusuf also urged communities to consider the impact of armed violence on ordinary people, arguing that civilians often bear the greatest consequences of insecurity.
The same approach is reflected in the statement from Irjen Pol. Faizal Ramadhani, head of the 2026 Damai Cartenz Operation. He said information and evidence obtained during the investigation would be followed up professionally and according to legal procedures.
Faizal also said security personnel would take firm and measured action if they encountered armed resistance during the pursuit.
The Human Cost Behind the Investigation
While attention has understandably focused on the identities of the suspected attackers, the case remains first and foremost a story about three public servants who did not return home from their assignment.
Alprida Rapi, head of the Livestock and Animal Health Division at the Jayawijaya Agriculture Office, was returned to Tana Toraja in South Sulawesi.
Alfonsius Albinus Mehan, a veterinarian, was returned to Sikka, East Nusa Tenggara.
Willi Mbuik, a civil-service candidate, was returned to Rote Ndao, also in East Nusa Tenggara.
Their bodies were repatriated to their respective home regions after the attack, according to Jubi and RakyatPos.
Their deaths have therefore resonated far beyond Jayawijaya. Families in several parts of Indonesia have lost relatives who were working in Papua, while local communities have lost public servants involved in programs intended to improve agriculture and livelihoods.
That human dimension is important when assessing the security situation in Papua. The impact of armed violence is measured not only by the number of casualties but also by the disruption it creates in families, government services, and local economic activity.
What the Identification Means for Papua’s Security
The identification of PN and KT gives investigators a clearer direction, but it also presents a demanding operational challenge.
Both men are believed to have experience operating in a difficult geographical environment. Their alleged association with the Egianus Kogoya network and previous cases makes their capture potentially important to the wider security investigation.
At the same time, the authorities face the need to ensure that enforcement remains precise and based on evidence.
For communities in Papua Pegunungan, the immediate priority is security that allows daily life and public services to continue. Farmers need access to agricultural officers. Government workers need to be able to reach villages. Cultural events need an environment where residents and visitors can participate without fear.
The Indonesian government’s ability to combine security enforcement with continued development therefore remains critical.
A sustained approach will require more than pursuing individual suspects. It will also require community engagement, protection for public workers, reliable transportation and communications, and continued investment in services that reduce the isolation of remote communities.
Conclusion
The identification of PN and KT is an important milestone in the Jayawijaya shooting investigation.
Police say the breakthrough came from an unlikely piece of evidence: a video call that was subsequently matched with existing physical descriptions and police records. The two men are already DPOs and are suspected of links to the Egianus Kogoya-led Kodap III Ndugama group, as well as previous violent incidents, including the Baliem Valley Cultural Festival shooting and the Susi Air hostage case.
But identification is not the end of the investigation. Police must still establish the complete sequence of events, identify all participants, determine individual roles, and present evidence through the legal process.
For Papua Pegunungan, the stakes are broader than one criminal investigation. The safety of civil servants, farmers, traders, cultural communities, and other residents is closely tied to the region’s development prospects.
The next phase of the case will therefore be watched not only for whether the suspects are found but also for whether the authorities can deliver justice while maintaining public confidence and protecting the space needed for development to continue.
Security remains closely connected to civilian protection and the continuity of public services. The Muliama case reinforces that connection in a particularly stark way.
For Papua, lasting stability will ultimately depend on both effective law enforcement and the ability of communities to live, work, and pursue development without intimidation or violence.
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