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A 56-year-old man named Erick Ndakola, who camped at his mother's gravesite at Uupindi Location Cemetery, returned home today after spending nearly two weeks there. 

The man caused a stir when he pitched a tent at his mother's grave, claiming that he was protecting it from being further vandalised and gravesite items stolen. 

His plea was that he wanted good Samaritans to assist him in rebuilding his mother's gravestone, which was vandalised after it took the family a long time to collect funds to buy it. 

Ndakola's stay however did not sit well with community members, and after he was persuaded by the police, he finally agreed to move back home. 

"That made me feel really bad that a person would destroy my mother's gravestone and steal some of its parts. I decided to move here so I could protect the gravestone and get money so that I can be able to rebuild it. I want to inform those who destroy gravestones to desist from that practice. We don't even know what they use these stolen gravestones for."

Ndakola is however still appealing to those who can assist him financially or materially so he can restore the gravesite to its former state. 

Oshana Police Commander Naftal Sakaria says there have been several cases of vandalism to gravesites. 

"There are reports of violations of graves, and this is an offence, and people should not go to the graveyards to remove parts thereof. If you are arrested, you can be charged, and it can be serious. As a result, he agreed to go back home because we all know it's not safe to live in the graveyard. The community came in numbers, and they were not comfortable seeing someone in the graveyard, as they had never seen it before. So everyone agrees here that the best solution is for him to go back home and seek necessary help that he might need."

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Ndapanda Shuuya