The crowded passengers in the matatu notorious for overloading had been seating calmly and waiting to alight at their respective stages.
But as the matatu approached Kona Legio junction, the driver screamed piercingly and jumped, making the vehicle veer off the road. Luckily, he was able to quickly regain his senses and apply emergency brakes, thus averting an accident.
“Thuol (snake)! Woi!” screamed the driver again as he jumped out of the vehicle.
DANGER
All the passengers in the vehicle screamed and jumped on top of the seats, trying to avoid physical contact with the serpent. But it wasn’t the easiest thing to do because ‘thuol’ had disappeared immediately the driver began yelling, so no one knew exactly where danger lay. It didn’t help that the matatu was overloaded.
Excess passengers nearest the door scampered for safety while those who remained stuck on their seats raising their legs off the floor. Those who had sat on sambaza (a piece of wood inserted between seats to create sitting space for extra passengers) hampered movement and created a fine mess in the now noisy matatu.
The bizarre incident shocked onlookers who wondered what madness had invaded the matatu, beginning with the driver to the fleeing conductor and followed by screaming passengers. Until the snake story crept out.
But a while later, the passengers regrouped and spent quite a bit of time searching for the snake — to kill it. But none of them saw it again. They only learnt later that a smartly dressed woman who had been sitting next to the driver, and who was suspected to be the owner of the snake had vanished into thin air, with the thuol, perhaps.
According to the know it alls who always congregate at the scene of any incident, the snake was forced to slither out of her bag when the heat emanating from the engine in the driver’s cabin became unbearable.
After things had cooled down, everyone in the vehicle alighted and sought alternative means of transport. Others opted to walk, fearing that the incident might recur.
Mary Odeyo, who was seated right behind the driver’s seat, said the snake was a baby python with a black shiny skin.
“A man who claimed to have seen the owner of the snake said he also saw the snake lift its head from the bag, but couldn’t remember what exactly happened because the moment people began screaming, he jumped out,” said Odeyo.
REPTILES
Odeyo says cases of women rearing snakes in Kisumu have become common. Most of them allegedly use the reptiles as charms to prevent their husbands from cheating.
“Nyoka natumika kuchunga ndoa isiaribike (snakes are used to bewitch husbands and stop them from straying),” she said.
Snakes, according to the grapevine, are also kept by witches and night runners either as pets, or for use in macabre witchcraft-related rituals.
Source: standardmedia.co.ke
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