By Vitalis Kimutai
Rude shock greeted a middle-aged man at a trading centre in Bomet District when he awoke at a girlfriend’s house to find himself in the company of a huge snake.
The man (name withheld) was having a siesta after taking a sumptuous late lunch prepared by his girlfriend when he was suddenly awoken by a persistent hissing sound under the bed.
Initially, the man, dressed in a grey T-shirt and blue jeans mistook the sound for stove that had not been turned off.
The man’s girlfriend had gone to a neighbouring house after sharing the lunch with her boyfriend, while her twin sons played outside the house with other young boys.
The incident occurred two weekends ago at Silibwet trading centre in Bomet central division.
It is believed that the snake had been ‘domesticated’ by the woman and that she uses it to practice witchcraft.
Following the persistent sound, the man decided to get off the bed and investigate its cause only to find a huge snake nestled on torn old clothes under the bed.
The man fled barefoot while screaming his lungs out attracting neighbours and members of the business community.
Startled neighbours responded to the screams and stormed the house, where they found and killed the reptile.
"What baffled me is that the snake seemed very much at home and did not seem alarmed by my presence," the man told a curious crowd which kept swelling as news of the discovery and killing of the reptile spread around the town like a bushfire.
SHOCK
Further shock awaited the crowd when the woman’s sons revealed that the reptile had been domesticated by their mother and was usually fed milk and meat.
"Why did you kill our mummy’s pet? She has treasured it for a long time and usually feeds it milk and meat from the local butchery," one of the boys innocently asked the crowd.
Upon interrogation, the boys further revealed that the reptile was not the only one in the family. Another one was kept by their grandmother in Olenguruone, Molo District.
"Aaah! Ndarani kobar okot komingin kabilet ake. Ndokere nemiten kotab batiem konyilen somok inoni en koindo ak neratet (The snake you just killed is three times smaller than the one kept by our grandmother)," the boy told the shocked gathering.
Following the discovery, the man’s lover disappeared only to resurface late at night and refute the claims she had domesticated the reptile.
Eyewitnesses told Crazy Monday the woman claimed that the snake must have crept into the house because the weather was hot.
Neighbours have however petitioned their landlord to kick her out and insist they will no longer live with an untrustworthy person.
"We expect her to move out in the next few days and have told the landlord that if he does not kick her out, we will all move to another estate," a woman who declined to be named said.
Meanwhile, the woman’s lover, who is married with one child, has gone back to his family which he had neglected for close to a year.
