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Kumanjayi Walker inquest no longer starting in Yuendumu at family’s request

The inquest into the death of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker, who was shot by a Northern Territory police officer in 2019, will no longer begin in his home community of Yuendumu.

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains an image of a person who has died, used with the permission of their family.

Kumanjayi Walker died after he was shot by Constable Zachary Rolfe during an attempted arrest in Yuendumu in November 2019.

Constable Rolfe was found not guilty of murder after a five-week Supreme Court trial earlier this year.

Northern Territory Coroner, Libby Armitage, will preside over a three-month inquest into his death, which had earlier been flagged to start in the remote community, about 300 kilometers from Alice Springs.

A person holds a t-shirt with the words 'justice for walker, never again' above their head.
Family and supporters of Kumanjayi Walker requested the inquest no longer begin in Yuendumu. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)

‘Change in circumstances’ in Yuendumu

Legal representatives of Mr Walker’s family and community today told the Coroner it would no longer be “appropriate” for the inquest to start in Yuendumu.

Representatives for the Lane, Walker and Robertson families, who cared for Mr Walker, said a “change in circumstances” in Yuendumu meant their feelings towards the inquest being held in community had changed.

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