Why a farmer wants a giant python that has lived on the farm for 25 years moved

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers storm a farm at Kapseret area on Monday after local villagers spotted a python snake, it's weight ranges about 70 kilos in Uasin Gishu County.June 30, 2026. [Peter Ochieng, Standard]

When Jacob Chelemek acquired land in Randich village in Kapseret, Uasin Gishu County, 25 years ago, his desire was to settle down in a quiet environment during his retirement.

But his closest neighbour turned out to be a snake that had grown into a giant reptile living in a rocky, bushy section of the 25-acre property. 

The python has, however, terrified the village of Randich, especially his host, in recent weeks.

Chelemek says that for over 20 years, the giant snake, which measures at least five metres, has had an unquenchable appetite for chicken, goats, and, at times, dogs. 

The farmer says the farm had many wild rabbits which appear to have been exhausted by the python. 

On Monday, the search for the snake kicked off, with Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers combing the thicket seeking to catch the python for relocation but they were not lucky to find it in its burrow.

“I didn’t want to kill the snake because I worked at World Wildlife Fund for Nature, an organisation that advocated for protection of wildlife. I have encountered the snake several times but it has been harmless,” Chelemek said during the frantic search.

Two reasons have, however, pushed Chelemek to call for relocation to the python.

He says the reptile has slithered into his compound a number of times to drink water in troughs since the onset of a drought in the area in the last two months and that it has resorted to eating neighbours’ chickens.

“I fear is that the snake might come to my compound to drink water and children provoke it and it gets furious and starts to attack,” says Chelemek.

He recalls first discovering the snake in his farm in 2005. 

According to him, the python has eaten countless chicken and goats.

“I was discouraged and stopped keeping goats in the bushy sections of the farm five years ago. The reptile was surviving on water collected on the rocks, but it dried up,” the farmer states.

He goes on to say: “Following the water scarcity, the snake became a frequent visitor to the homestead where we have water troughs for cows. Its 3-4pm visits have terrified my family. 

Chelemek spotted the python near its burrow two weeks ago when he was looking for a missing cow.

He says neighbours were terrified after chickens that got into the farm disappeared mysteriously.

“No chicken gets into the farm and returns home. We searched for it  (the snake) today (Monday), but we were not lucky to find it. I urge the KWS team not to tire. Let us hunt until we find it,” a hopeful Chelemek said.

His neighbour Thomas Talam claimed the huge snake is horrifying that it forced two of his farm workers to quit their jobs for fear of being attacked by it.

“I sent one of my workers to plant some trees on the lower side of my farm, near a river and he spotted the snake. He came back and resigned after complaining that the horrifying reptile might swallow him alive. The second worker also spotted it and he left out of fear,” Mr Talam, who has lived in the area since 2014 claimed.

He further explained how the python forced his wife to abandon a thriving chicken business.

“My wife ventured into chicken farming but complained that the birds’ numbers were mysteriously declining every day. She quit the agricultural venture after discovering that a snake was eating her chicken,” he said.

Another neighbour, Thomas Kutto, said that as at 2003, when most of the neighbours moved into the area, the snake could be spotted basking in the sun on one of the rocks in Chelemek’s farm. 

“It has now grown a huge snake that likes eating chicken. The snake is now a threat to the farm owner, neighbours, and schoolchildren. There are snakes in the neighbourhood, but the one in Chelemek’s farm is a major threat because it has started coming to the compound,” the neighbour says.

Herpetologist Elicky Kipyego, who joined KWS wardens in the search, said one environmental advantage of snakes is that they help control rodent and pest populations in ecosystems. 

According to Kipyego, the farm where the snake has lived for the last 25 years is not polluted with chemicals, making it conducive to the reptile's survival.

The herpetologist said the python has four burrows in the thicket, but one of the holes is active.

“It left around midmorning but had not returned in the afternoon. The python has eaten livestock and has never swallowed a human being. This means it only lacks food such as wild rabbits, rats and monkeys within the environment,” he said.

He added: “We encourage locals not to harm it. The best way is to call KWS whenever they spot it so that it is relocated.”