More than 40 pythons killed and dumped by the roadside

OVER a dozen villagers in Nsindi, Gwanda, could each serve at least nine years in prison after they killed 20 pythons which were part of a nest of about 40 and are believed to have been dumped by a roadside.

The incident, which happened on Tuesday last week comes after villagers in Zimhofu, Zaka in Masvingo, on Sunday last week found more than 30 pythons on top of a grave.

Villagers, who saw the reptiles which were over a metre long, said beside the pythons was a sack which is said to have contained the snakes.

Of the more than 40 snakes that were seen, 20 were killed by villagers while the rest disappeared into the bush.

A Sunday News crew, which visited the site where the snakes were "dumped" last Thursday, only found stones which the villagers used to kill the snakes.

Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson, Mrs Caroline Washaya-Moyo, confirmed receiving reports of the dumped pythons. She said the villagers risked being jailed for killing the pythons.

"We are going to send a team to go to Gwanda and conduct investigations in that village so that we can bring the perpetrators to book. The public should know that if they come across such species they are supposed to report the case to the nearest police station or park. They should not handle the case on their own because they put themselves in danger," she said.

"Pythons are specially protected species because in our culture they are associated with the rains. They scientifically symbolise plenty food like frogs, so it is a serious crime to kill a python. One can be locked in jail for nine years for killing a python with no option of paying a fine."

Nsindi Village head Mr Cain Dube said he was shocked when he was informed by his subjects that there were pythons dumped a few metres behind his homestead.

"I got to know about these mysterious snakes when I was in Gwanda town. Almost everyone was talking about it. One of my neighbourhood policemen, Christopher Dube, told me that he saw 20 dead pythons at a road junction," said Headman Dube.

"Other villagers, who saw the pythons earlier, reported that there were more than 40 of them dumped on the path. It is said that there was a sack just beside the pythons which we are confident contained the snakes. What surprised us is that when we went to the scene, the snakes were nowhere to be found, including the dead ones. This suggested that they had been taken away by somebody. I think this has something to do with witchcraft."

Mr Dube said he almost froze with fear when he stumbled upon the snakes while coming from another village on his way home on Wednesday last week.

"I heard of the pythons when my daughter-in-law told me about them on Tuesday afternoon while I was on my way to pay a friend a visit. When I returned home the following day, I took the shortest route and that is when I could not believe my eyes when I found myself in the middle of 20 dead pythons.

"Villagers killed 20 pythons as they could not believe what they saw too. Surprisingly, when we visited the scene, those dead pythons could not be found. I think somebody had collected them back after performing a certain ritual as pythons are believed to be associated with rituals," he said.

Another villager, Mr Aelpo Ncube, who saw the pythons, linked the incident to an act of witchcraft.

"In our culture, it is very rare for a python to be seen. In this case the pythons were many and others were found dead before they mysteriously disappeared. Everyone is shocked in the village because we do not know how we can interpret this. Surely, this might mark the end of the world," said Mr Ncube.