Kamaruddin Simanjuntak

Kamaruddin died in the early hours of Monday 19 October 2026 at Rumah Sakit Pelni in Petamburan, West Jakarta. He was 52. Suara.com reported the time of death as 2.47am WIB; colleague Martin Lukas Simanjuntak, who had also worked with the Brigadir J family, told CNN Indonesia and detik that he had died around 3.00am WIB at the same hospital.

Martin said Kamaruddin had undergone routine kidney dialysis for several years, though he did not know the full clinical detail of the illness. Other reports attributed the death to kidney disease; the family had not issued a detailed medical statement when the news broke. His body was taken to the Rumah Duka at Ukrida (Universitas Kristen Krida Wacana), with the funeral schedule still to be agreed by relatives.

Confirmation also came from fellow advocate Poltak Silitonga, who told kumparan he was deeply upset by the news. Roslin Emika Br Simanjuntak, an aunt of Brigadir Yosua, posted a public tribute recalling Kamaruddin's sacrifice for the Hutabarat family. In March 2026 false reports of his death had already circulated online and been denied; his final decline followed months of worsening health.

Kamaruddin Hendra Simanjuntak was born on 21 May 1974 in Siborongborong, in the North Tapanuli regency of North Sumatra, to Midian Simanjuntak and Nurmaya br. Pardede. He belonged to a Batak Toba family and finished secondary school at SMA Negeri 1 Siborongborong in 1992.

He then moved to Jakarta with limited means. For about three months he lived under a bridge in the Klender area of East Jakarta because he could not afford a rented room, and he supported himself with casual jobs. In 1993 he found work as a customer service clerk in a restaurant, later tried and lost a small business, and worked as a salesman before deciding to study law.

In 2000 he entered the Faculty of Law at Universitas Kristen Indonesia (UKI) in Jakarta. He graduated cum laude with a Sarjana Hukum (bachelor of laws) in 2004 and later obtained a Magister Hukum (master of laws).

From 2007 Kamaruddin was a member of Perhimpunan Advokat Indonesia (Peradi), the Indonesian Advocates Association. He built a practice as a vocal criminal and corruption lawyer and in 2019 opened his own firm, Victoria Law Firm.

Among the cases that brought him media attention before 2022 were the Hambalang athletes village corruption scandal and the electronic identity card (e-KTP) graft case. In 2021 he acted as counsel for YouTuber Muhammad Kece in a blasphemy case. In November 2020 he founded Partai Demokrasi Republik Indonesia Sejahtera (PDRIS), a small political party of which he was general chair.

His national profile rose sharply in 2022 when he became lead counsel for the family of Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat (Brigadir J), who was killed on 8 July 2022 at the official residence of then Propam chief Ferdy Sambo in Duren Tiga, South Jakarta. Engaged by Yosua's father Samuel Hutabarat, Kamaruddin pressed for transparency and for the prosecution of those responsible. The trial, in which Sambo, Putri Candrawathi, Richard Eliezer and others were convicted, made him a household name. He later handled other high profile briefs, including work in Balikpapan in 2023.

His outspoken style also led to conflict with the authorities. In August 2023 Bareskrim named him a suspect in a defamation and hoax case arising from remarks he had made while representing the wife of a state pension fund director; he disputed the designation and linked it to his work on the Sambo case.

Kamaruddin married Joanita Meroline Wenji in 2000. The couple had five children, including Julietta Madelaine Rose Simanjuntak. He remained closely identified with his North Sumatran Batak roots while practising in Jakarta.

Kamaruddin is remembered above all for forcing the Brigadir J killing into the open and for speaking for a police officer's family against a powerful general. Admirers saw him as a lawyer who used the media as well as the courtroom to keep pressure on investigators. Critics and police cases against him showed how contested that style was. Indonesian Wikipedia and major news outlets recorded his death as a loss to the advocacy community that had grown around the Sambo trial.