Satgas Damai Cartenz arrested two men, Ripe Kerebea and EK, in Nduga, 16 August 2024. Ripe, who works as a village office employee, was arrested at his home in the presence of his wife and children in the early hours of the morning.

After being briefly detained at Nduga police station, there his left calf was shot. On 18 August 2024 he was reportedly taken to Timika. The next day he was flown to Jayapura for medical treatment and detained at the Papua Police, where he was detained until 18 December 2024. When the case was transferred to the prosecutor's office, Rife was transferred to Wamena and detained at Wamena Prison.

He was allegedly, according to the police, involved in a number of criminal cases since 2022. These include the theft of weapons (18/6/2022) and the shooting down of an aircraft in Kali Brasa Yahukimo (17/2/2024).

Police also said that Rife had joined the TPNPB led by Egianus Kogoya. ‘He was in charge of monitoring the movement of TNI-Polri officers and helped distribute logistics to KKB headquarters and monitoring posts, and often gave advice to KKB groups,’ the police said.

As of the end of September 2024, there was no further news about the legal process.

On 4 February 2025, his case was registered at the Wamena Court. He was charged with premeditated murder by attacking a gold panning site of migrants in Ei River, Saralada District, Yahukimo, 16 October 2024.

According to his lawyer, Rife has been tortured since his arrest and detention. Rife was arrested without being shown an arrest warrant. He was immediately handcuffed and his head was covered with a black cloth. He was beaten and threatened with death if he did not confess. His left calf was even shot at close range. He was also forced to sign the investigation report without being given the opportunity to read it first.

On 12 June 2025, the panel of judges at the Wamena District Court found Rife guilty and sentenced him to 8 years in prison, four years less than the prosecutor's demands. The defendant's legal counsel appealed the verdict. Unfortunately, on 29 August 2025, the Jayapura High Court upheld the original verdict. The legal counsel and the defendant appealed again, this time to the Supreme Court. At the end of October, the Supreme Court judges rejected the defendant's appeal.