Drama as 2 arrested with cobra while headed for prayers in Bungoma

There was drama when two men were arrested on Tuesday while carrying a two-and-a-half-metre-long cobra snake in Kanduyi, Bungoma county.

They told police the snake was meant for rituals in the area, adding the serpent was not harmful then.

It was contained in a net when the police detained the two. Such snakes are poisonous.

The men aged 38 and 23 were riding a motorcycle with the forest cobra, which was black and white.

One of them claimed to be a pastor, while the other was a patient in need of prayers.

Police said they had intercepted the two who had come from Koyonzo in Kakamega as they headed to a prayer site.

The pastor told police a spirit had shown him there was a snake in the house of the parents of the patient, and he managed to dig it out before he placed it in a net.

They then went to the Bukembe area for more prayers and sacrifices on the snake and sheep which was to be bought.

They were intercepted at Kanduyi Market before Kenya Wildlife Service personnel were called and picked up the snake for safe custody, police said.

Police said the suspects were detained pending grilling and possible arraignment for offence of dealing and possession of a live wildlife species as per the wildlife conservation laws.

A crowd gathered at the scene before police moved the snake and suspects to the local station.

Last year in May, police in Busia County arrested a 26-year-old man for being in possession of a live snake without a valid permit from KWS, in an unusual incident that unfolded near the Kenya-Uganda border.

Police stationed at Mayenje Police Post intercepted the suspect, identified as Fanish Ramsey Maloba, while manning the Malenya border point. 

Maloba, a resident of Matayos Subcounty, was found carrying a black bag that contained a live black and brown-coated snake, estimated to be approximately two meters long.

When questioned, the suspect claimed he had crossed into Uganda to conduct prayers and perform spiritual cleansing rituals. 

He alleged that the snake mysteriously appeared during the session and that he captured it with the intention of taking it to his church—Apostle Ministries Church in Matayos—for further prayers.

Authorities quickly alerted KWS officers, who responded. The snake was safely taken into the custody of KWS.

Officials link such incidents to deceit by some traditional healers. What puzzles many is how the animals remain less harmful during their period of custody.