Merince Kogoya

Some Lesser Known Facts About Merince Kogoya

• Merince Kogoya grew up in Papua, Indonesia.

• Merince has loved sports since school and even won 1st place in the girls’ basketball competition at the Three X Three Honda DBL tournament in Papua Province in 2021.

  

• In 2022, she participated in the same basketball event again and won 2nd place.

• She also represented her region and secured 3rd place in the Women’s Basketball event at the 2022 Provincial Student Sports Week (PORPROV II).

• During her school days, she participated in the National Science Competition at the provincial level.

• Merince held several roles during her academic years, including Coordinator of PI and Prayer at UKM-PMK Uncen and Head of the Class of 2023 in the Management Department.

• She also served as Secretary of Youth at GKII Bethesda Abepura Congregation and taught Sunday School for the Pratama class.

• In the 2024-2025 term, she was appointed as the Spiritual Coordinator of the Student Executive Board (BEM) at the Faculty of Economics and Business, Cenderawasih University.

• At the same time, she also served as the Head of the Women’s Empowerment Division at the university-wide BEM at Cenderawasih University.

  

• Merince is a spiritual person who often shares spiritual activities and inspiring messages on social media.

• Kogoya believes in giving back to society and helping those in need. She often visits NGOs and spends time with children in orphanages.

  

• On 16 May 2023, Merince Kogoya shared a video on Instagram, where she and a group of people were seen waving the Israeli flag in a field, with a caption expressing strong support for Israel and Jerusalem.

  

• Merince even wrote “I STAND WITH ISRAEL” in her Instagram bio to show her support. She later explained in her Instagram stories that posting the video and waving the Israeli flag were part of expressing her Christian faith.

  

• In 2025, Merince participated in Miss Indonesia and represented Highland Papua.

• When the video of her waving the Israeli flag resurfaced on social media in June 2025, it triggered strong backlash because of Indonesia’s strong support for Palestine, leading to public criticism and pressure on the Miss Indonesia committee.

• On 27 June 2025, the Miss Indonesia 2025 committee decided to remove Merince from the competition and selected Karmen Anastasya to represent Papua Pegunungan in her place.

• Following the decision, Merince expressed her deep disappointment on social media, writing that she had worked hard for four months to earn the Papua Pegunungan finalist sash, sacrificing a lot and receiving over 65 million in support.

• Merince later apologised to the people of Papua Pegunungan, saying she had done her best but believed the committee’s decision was based on disagreement with her religious beliefs.

  

• Merince is an avid traveller and often shares her travel experiences on social media.