Jakarta. Former Governor of Papua, Lukas Enembe, passed away on Tuesday after being treated for kidney failure at Gatot Subroto Army Hospital.

At the time of his death, he was serving an eight-year prison sentence for a graft conviction.

His attorney, Petrus Bala Pattyona, said Lukas had been diagnosed with acute kidney failure since the start of his legal proceedings and he died at around 10:45 a.m. at 56 years old.

"He was first diagnosed with kidney failure amid the court hearings in October," Petrus said.

The body will be flown to Lukas' hometown in Papua for the funeral, the lawyer added. 

Enembe was arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Jan. 10, 2023, as he was trying to flee the country. Since his arrest, Lukas Enembe had been in poor health, leading to his hospitalization. Lukas claimed to have suffered a stroke and kidney failure. After his condition improved, Lukas was detained at the KPK Detention Center. 

The Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court found former Papua Governor Lukas Enembe guilty of corruption and sentenced him to eight years in prison on Oct. 19, 2023. In addition to the prison term, he was ordered to return Rp 19.7 billion ($1.2 million) in embezzled state funds and fined Rp 500 million. 

During his tenure, Lukas has been accused of accepting Rp 47 billion in bribes from private companies that secured contracts with the Papua government. He also faces a separate indictment related to money laundering allegations after the KPK seized a substantial sum of banknotes worth Rp 82 billion in various denominations from him.

The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) revealed that Lukas made payments totaling 55 million Singapore dollars (US$39 million) to overseas casinos since 2017. This information came to light after analyzing the governor's financial records at the KPK's request. At one point, Lukas made a single casino payment of 5 million Singapore dollars, according to the PPATK.

KPK was also investigating allegations of the purchase of a private jet by Lukas Enembe. The KPK suspected that the purchase of the jet was related to the alleged receipt of gratuities and money laundering offenses.