Gaborone residents spooked by huge snake
Sebele ward resident Sinah Moagaesi of Gaborone North constituency is among the many in the area who are crying for help because of a huge snake living close to their homes, which they say is terrorising them.
She pleads with the office of the city mayor, Austin Abraham, to intervene and ensure that the bushy area is cleared before they get bitten by the big snake. On a daily basis, they see blood curdling snake tracks that suggest the presence of a repulsive serpent in the neighbourhood.
There is a deserted government house next to where she lives and she suspects it is the snake’s home.
Sometimes the snake comes out and they meet eye to eye, then it dashes back into the bushy house which is not accessible as its entrance is completely blocked by the overgrown trees.
What baffles Moagaesi is that they have killed many snakes from the deserted house in the past but they keep reappearing and she fears that many more are coming.
This is why she wants government to intervene as soon as possible.
When The Midweek Sun team visited the deserted house, some neighbours who say they are government employees and cannot be named for fear of victimisation said the snake feeds on their chickens.
One said they once woke up to find a snake trapped and dead. It had tried to enter the chicken coop made of wire mash and its head got stuck in the fence hole.
“We realised that it had come to eat the chickens but got stuck. What scares us is that we realise that we are no longer dealing with one but many of them,” she said.
Another said they fear going out at night and are forced to always close windows and doors before sunset for safety purposes.
“I fear for my kids. It is not nice being here. We are also worried because criminals hide in here, some use the place as a dumping site and throw waste there, government needs to intervene.”
City Mayor Abraham who is aware of the complaints from residents, assured that the city council would do all in its power to help.