Three Jayawijaya agriculture civil servants killed in Muliama ambush

Jayawijaya — — Three civil servants from the Jayawijaya Agriculture Department were shot dead in an ambush in Kampung Muliama, Distrik Muliama, Papua Pegunungan, on Wednesday, 9 September 2026, while returning from a government food-assistance mission, according to police and media reports.

The victims were identified as Aprida Rapi, 49, Alfonsius Albinus Meha, 35, and Wili (also reported as Willi) Mbuik, 24–25, all employees of the district agriculture office. Officials said the three were part of a larger convoy delivering livestock assistance and inspecting agricultural programmes in nearby Asologaima district before heading back to Wamena.

Satgas Operasi Damai Cartenz, the joint police task force in Papua, stated that the shooting occurred at around 15:53 WIT on a road in Muliama as the group’s vehicles were intercepted by an armed group. Task force head Inspector General Faizal Ramadhani said all three victims died at the scene from gunshot wounds, and their bodies were taken to Wamena General Hospital.

According to Damai Cartenz, the victims were travelling in the course of their official duties, including field inspections for a rice-field “cetak sawah” programme and the distribution of pigs as food aid to local communities. The incident took place in a highland area of Jayawijaya regency, part of the newly formed Papua Pegunungan province.

Police blame Kodap III Ndugama armed group

Police and the Damai Cartenz task force say preliminary investigations point to members of the West Papua National Liberation Army–Organisasi Papua Merdeka (TPNPB-OPM) operating under the name Kelompok Kriminal Bersenjata (KKB) Kodap III Ndugama as the suspected perpetrators.

Faizal Ramadhani said the attack is believed to have been carried out by gunmen from Nduga area, and described the three slain agriculture staff as civilians targeted while performing public-service duties. As of mid-September, authorities were still pursuing at least eight alleged attackers identified through witness accounts and intelligence gathered by the Damai Cartenz task force.

In earlier briefings, police had not publicly named individual suspects, and investigators said they were still working to establish the identities of the gunmen. Available reports from the task force and national media focus on the group affiliation and number of alleged attackers, rather than specific initials or names.

Victims and conflicting casualty details

Media reports consistently name the three victims as Aprida Rapi, the head of the Jayawijaya Agriculture Department; veterinarian Alfonsius Albinus Meha; and staff member Wili or Willi Mbuik. Two of the victims, Aprida and Wili, are described as women in some accounts, while Meha is reported as a male veterinarian.

Initial police information suggested that two people had died and one was critically injured, before later updates confirmed that all three agriculture officials had been shot and killed in the ambush. Subsequent reports clarified that the three were civil servants (ASN) employed by the Jayawijaya government.

Officials and local media state that the convoy had delivered food-assistance livestock in Kampung Kimbim, Asologaima, and was en route back to Wamena when armed men blocked the road and opened fire. The attack has prompted security operations by Indonesian forces in Jayawijaya’s interior, including efforts to track armed groups believed to be based in remote highland areas.

Key facts

• Deaths: Three agriculture-department civil servants from Jayawijaya (Aprida Rapi, Alfonsius Albinus Meha, Wili/Willi Mbuik).
• Location: Road area near Kampung Muliama, Distrik Muliama, Jayawijaya, Papua Pegunungan.
• Time and date: Around 15:45–15:53 WIT on Wednesday, 9 September 2026.
• Mission: Returning from distributing livestock food aid and inspecting agricultural programmes in Asologaima district.
• Suspected perpetrators: Armed group identified by police as KKB Kodap III Ndugama linked to TPNPB-OPM; no named individual suspects publicly confirmed in available reports.

Sources

• CNN Indonesia - Kronologi rombongan Dinas Pertanian ditembak KKB saat akan cetak sawah
• Tempo - 3 ASN Dinas Pertanian Jayawijaya ditembak orang tak dikenal
• Suara.com - Di balik penembakan 3 ASN di Muliama: mengapa konflik bersenjata Papua tak kunjung reda
• Inilah.com - 3 pegawai Pemkab Jayawijaya ditembak saat antar bantuan, data korban tewas berbeda
• Narasi Newsroom on X - Tiga ASN tewas ditembak di Distrik Muliama
• Memorandum Disway - Satgas ODC kantongi ciri-ciri 8 pelaku penembakan 3 ASN di Muliama
• Viva - 3 ASN Dinas Pertanian ditembak mati di Papua, pelakunya ternyata KKB Kodap III Ndugama
• Detik - Kronologi 3 ASN Pemkab Jayawijaya tewas ditembak KKB saat bawa bantuan
• Tribun-Medan