The owner of a house, in which an alleged talking snake emerged was yesterday shocked to hear that the dangerous reptile talking with the voice of her husband had been killed at the police station.
Mai Chigume of house no 14726, Zengeza 3 Extension confirmed that the snake was found in her house and that it spoke to her through a prophet resulting in her suspecting her husband to be behind her troubles.
The forest cobra was however killed by game rangers after they failed to capture it alive, a development that shocked Mai Chigume who claimed to have witnessed a fierce spiritual battle between the snake and the prophet.
There was chaos at St Mary’s police station after scores of people mobbed the charge office hoping to have a glimpse of the snake.
Members of the public had time to take pictures of the dead reptile with their mobile phones before it was taken by National Parks officers.
Mai Chigume said the prophet had prophesied about the snake in her house before she called them for prayers.
She found it hard to believe that the snake had lost its life with fears that she might receive a death message following the killing of the snake.
“Mati yauraiwa? Yatofa? Chirudzii? Yauraiwa nani wacho? Traditionally, if such a snake is killed the owner of the snake might die at the same time and I am worried,” said Mai Chigume looking terrified.
“Yes I am a Catholic but that doesn’t change our traditional beliefs and with that incident I am worried and still have to find out how they killed it.
“It might mean more danger to me than what has led me to consult the prophet in the first place or otherwise the snake returned here when they thought that they killed it.
“It is a spiritual warfare and it can only be overcome spiritually after all the challenges I am facing concerning my separation with my husband for quite some time now.
“Inhamo yakaita kuti nditsvage rubatsiro kumaporofita aya.
“The snake was roaring and the prophets struggled to catch it and now you simply say they killed it at the police station without shooting it or spraying it,” said Mai Chigume.
She revealed constant family problems, among them the mysterious death of her form three children that forced her to seek spiritual guidance. She said the prophets had prophesied about the snake in her house.
She said the snake, through the prophet, made outrageous cash demands of US$4 000 and later lowered it to US$1 000.
She dispelled word doing rounds that she was the owner of the snake and claims that the prophets might have planted the snake in her house.
“I believe they are genuine prophets, because they had nothing in their hands when they entered the house. They asked for the holy water and milk that they had given me the previous day and sprinkled it in the house.
“One of them was standing by my bedroom door and sprinkled the water and suddenly the snake appeared from the corner of my bed, raised the mattress and saw the snake under it and it went under the bed.
“We pushed the bed and the snake was in attacking position, hitting the bed,” she said
She added, “One of them removed his dust coat and showed it to the snake and it spit its venom on the dust coat and the prophet fell and became unconscious for a while.
“He later started slithering like a snake and I was advised that I should start talking to the snake through him as it was a process of kuhakira.”
She revealed that the snake claimed that she knew about it, which she said she disputed.
“Nyoka yakati inga unondiziva wani, inga ndakauraya mwana ndikati ndiripe wani. Ndimi mandinyongosva, ndatumwa nababa vangu kuzotora zvitaka zvevana, urikuchengetwa,” the snake allegedly said.
She added that she suspected it to be her husband whom she said demanded compensation following the death of their son, resulting in their son spending two weeks in the mortuary.
The two are currently on separation after bitter legal battles between them, with the husband reportedly in Mhondoro.
She added that the snake mentioned its origins, saying it was acquired from a border town and that she was not responsible for its upkeep.
“Ndakatorwa kumuganhu takuenda mhiri. Ukanditungamirira pano handibve, ndanoenda ndichidzoka pano, unenge wana mai vangu.”
She added that the snake demanded compensation for it to vacate her premises peacefully, asking for US$4 000 saying it was part of the deal its owner entered into.
“It demanded US$4000 saying my children will help me raise the money. It later conceded that I was innocent and reduced the amount to US$1 000 saying it was going to deal with the person who acquired it,” she said.
She added that the snake made another strange demand, asking her to buy a red and black cloth and to throw it in a deep pool along with US$100. She added that the snake threatened to follow and bite her if she abandons the place.
Mai Chigume further said she went outside and met a policeman and rushed to the police station where they got an armed cop, leaving the prophet lying in the house.
She added that upon return with the armed cop, the prophet quickly awoke threatening to burn the house, “ndinoibvirisa kana kuti ndinozara muno.”
She said it was desperate for attention. She revealed that all hell broke loose when the cops arrived, resulting in people flocking to her house, jostling to have a glimpse of the snake.
Mai Chigume said the cops were even scared to catch the snake as it was fierce and the prophets managed to catch it using a bed sheet and put it in a sack before driving to the police station.
She revealed that they initially commanded it to get into a sack but it resisted the call. She said she was shocked to hear that the snake had been killed after witnessing its struggle with the prophets.
Contacted for comment over the killing of the snake by game rangers, National Parks and Wildlife Management public relations officer, Caroline Washaya Moyo said:
“A forest cobra is a poisonous snake and the fact that the reptile had been detained and disturbed for a long period means it was angry and the game rangers had no choice than to kill it.”
She added: “It is different from python snakes which are non-poisonous and these must not be tampered with.
“It was not being fed and was forced to stay at a place not its habitat so it was more dangerous and we advised members of the public that they must keep a distance from such reptiles. Those who are handling snake must desist from that.”
Mai Chigume followed the prophets in Domboshava where she slept after the snake was detained at the police station on Monday. H Metro