A 26-year-old man identified as Fanish Ramsey Maloba was arrested in Busia County on Monday after being found in possession of a live two-metre-long snake. The incident occurred at Malenya in Matayos sub-county and was reported to the Mayenje police post.
According to police reports, Maloba was intercepted by officers while carrying a suspicious black bag. Upon inspection, the bag was found to contain a black and brown coated snake, which authorities described as alive and about two metres long.
The suspect, a resident of Matayos, told police that he had travelled to Uganda for a spiritual mission to offer prayers and cast out demons. He claimed the snake mysteriously appeared during the prayer session and he decided to capture it. Maloba said he was bringing the reptile back to his church, Apostle Ministries Church in Matayos, for further spiritual intervention.
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officials were alerted and, together with detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Busia, documented the scene and took the snake into custody for safety. The suspect is currently being held at Busia police station as investigations continue. Authorities say he will be charged in court once the probe is complete, with illegal possession of wildlife among the charges likely to be filed.
In a separate incident in Mlolongo, Machakos County, police are investigating a robbery where a businessman lost scrap metal valued at approximately Sh10 million. The businessman, who operates a yard in Mlolongo Township, reported that thieves broke into his premises in the early hours of Sunday by demolishing a section of the wall.
Fortunately, no one was injured during the heist as the premises were closed at the time. However, local residents have raised alarm over increasing insecurity in the area, citing frequent incidents of mugging, robbery, and burglaries. They criticized what they see as laxity from security agencies and called for urgent intervention to restore safety.
Investigations into both incidents are ongoing.
