Kitale man causes stir by eating live snake in public

A man in Kitale, Trans Nzoia County has shocked residents after he ate a huge raw snake in public on Sunday, March 14.

John Wekesa Wafula, a resident of Matisi, attracted a crowd as he wolfed down big chunks of raw snake meat.

For 35-year-old Wafula, the serpent is a cheap delicacy as compared to ordinary meat from the butcheries that he observes to be costly for no apparent reason when he can easily capture a snake from the bushes.

Wafula, who is also famously referred to as Sekeseke Mla Nyoka (Porcupine the snake eater), collects firewood from bushy and forested areas in the outskirts of Kitale town, which he sells out to women within the slum areas.

It is during such missions that he captures snakes for food, some as long as three metres, which he turns into his delicacy.

However, he does not need any value addition but instead eats the crawling creature raw and disregards any presumptions of poison.

**John Wekesa Wafula, a resident of Matisi in Kitale, Trans Nzoia County eat raw snake on Sunday, March 13, 2022.** [Martin Ndiema, Standard]

According to biblical teachings, God cursed the snake and declared it an eternal enemy of man hence Christians treat the serpent as satanic and hence do not associate with it.

In many African countries, snakes are also associated with sorcerers who are believed to use them in their black magic, hence the reptile is highly feared.

With science indicating that most snakes have highly poisonous venom and that a single bite can cause death within minutes if not well attended to, Wafula's snake eating habit came as a huge surprise to many.

Asked how he traps his prey, Wafula who appeared so courageous and undisturbed by the curious audience, explained how he made his timings to capture snakes when they were full in stomach and resting.

"Since snakes are dangerous and can pounce on you if you don't take enough precautions, I wait until it has swallowed a rat or a rabbit when it's relaxing in the shade and I normally use two sharp sticks," he started.

He disclosed that snakes do not like it when the sun is hot and are so dangerous at such times, adding that they are quick to fight back at the smallest provocation. Further, Wafula disclosed that just like a hungry man, snakes too were angry when hungry and the best time to trap them was when they were full and relaxing in the shade.

Using two sticks, added Wafula, he slowly tiptoes to his prey from behind and he makes an accurate timing and spears it in the neck such that it is pinned to the ground.

With the other stick, he provokes it and as it struggles to get out of the captivity, he pounces on the head and breaks it at the neck. Then he squeezes poison out by holding tight the neck with the head facing down.

He observed that rich people have enough money with them to buy adequate meat from the butcheries for their consumption but a ‘hustler’ of his stature could not afford the same hence resorting to the serpent.

"I discovered that this is just like fish and has white meat that is not only delicious but also highly nutritious and hence I prefer it since it tastes so delicious," he said to an amused audience.

Wafula disclosed that he was eating the tenth snake in a year now but agrees the serpent is a dangerous animal.

However, he sees no crime in eating the serpent, with pepper and salt as additives to the dismay of many. While it is against the law to eat game meat, Wafula pretends to be naive even as residents feel that consuming the serpent is a besmirch of his body.

An eyewitness Peter Simiyu wondered how someone could eat a snake and more so in its raw state. He observed that since it was against the Christian and African traditions, the act could be a result of being ‘bewitched’.

"I suppose this man has been bewitched and that whoever did so to him directed his magic to make him eat the serpent. While I may not be well versed with this, maybe the clergy would help us interpret the matter more," he said.

Reverend Evans Orone of Elim church in Kitale notes that the snake was cursed by God after it deceived Adam and Eve and that it is viewed as Satanic since then.

He rubbishes sentiments that snakes are similar to fish noting that Jesus Christ used fish to feed the hungry and not snakes and hence the two can never be similar.

A cross-section of the audience at the scene castigated the act even as a few compared the act with some developed countries where snake eating is a normal phenomenon.