Former Oshakati police officer guards mother’s grave at Omahenene after site is vandalised

A former Oshakati police officer, who has settled alongside his mother’s tombstone, says people think he’s either crazy or a ghost.

Erick Ndakolo (56) has taken up residence alongside his mother’s tombstone at Omahenene, in the town’s old graveyard.

Armed with traditional bows, arrows and a panga, he has vowed to guard his mother’s final resting place.

Ndakolo has become a familiar sight at this solemn place.

The long-bearded man says he decided to guard his mother’s grave after a piece of it was stolen on 6 October.

He then left his house at Omahenene and moved to the graveyard.

Ndakolo’s mother, Mirjam Ngeno, died 21 years ago, and a tombstone was erected for her in 2015.

“I have invested a lot of money and effort into this tombstone,” he says.

“I cannot bear the thought of leaving it unprotected – not now, not ever,” he says.

People call him a ghost, while some say he is crazy, he says.

“I am neither mad nor a ghost. I know what I’m doing. My young sister and I spent a lot of money on this tombstone, and I can’t just stand by while it is disrespected,” Ndakolo says.

He says he has vowed to remain at the gravesite until he can restore it.

Ndakolo sleeps in a small tent next to the grave.

He says he cooks his meals on a fire at night, keeping a watchful eye on the structure enclosed in a makeshift cage.

“I will leave this place when I get the materials needed to protect my mother’s grave. I may stay here for ten years if I have to.”

Ndakolo, who is currently a bricklayer, says he needs eight bags of cement, three roles of ‘brick force’ and 300 ‘super bricks’.

He says he has reported his mother’s vandalised gravesite to the police, but refused to open a case as the police “will not find the stolen piece of the tombstone”.

He says his brother’s tombstone at a different graveyard at Oshakati has also been stolen.

Despite his intention to stay, Ndakolo’s cousin Elias Shidinge says the family has grown increasingly concerned about Ndakolo’s mental state.

“We want him to come home, so he can be taken to a witch doctor. He doesn’t have to do this. I have never heard of people sleeping in graveyards. I want him to be removed from here by the police,” Shidinge says.

Ndakolo says his cousin is talking “nonsense” and “he did not contribute a cent” towards the erection of the grave.

He says if the police were to remove him from the graveyard, they would have to guard the grave.

Immirios Haludilu, who has known Ndakolo for a long time, says: “I understand that he is hurt, but please, help us and go home.”

Oshana police spokesperson chief inspector Thomas Aiyambo says the police are not aware of Ndakolo’s case.

“If he had opened a case with the police, we would investigate it. Now that he has not opened a case, we can’t do anything,” he says.

Oshakati Town Council spokesperson Katarina Kamari says the town council was not aware of a man living at the graveyard.

Psychologist Lovisa Nghipandulwa says Ndakolo’s situation is a sign of complicated grief disorder.

“It’s not really a normal reaction to a situation where a piece of tombstone has been stolen because under normal circumstances, this person was supposed to reach out to immediate family members to reorganise how to repair the damaged tombstone, but for him to personally think he can sleep in the graveyard to protect the tombstone is certainly not alright. This person needs immediate help,” she says.

She says Ndakolo’s immediate relatives should immediately take him to the nearest medical social worker at Oshakati Intermediate Hospital, who will then work with him in close collaboration with the mental health unit, as he needs both a psychosocial assessment or evaluation as well as mental health evaluation.