Zimbabwean Man Tells Police, I Want My Snake Back
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| Zimbabwean Man Tells Police, I Want My Snake Back: |
Mr Mupinganjire said he had inherited the Egyptian cobra from his mother
A Zimbabwean man who was arrested by police with a deadly cobra in his laptop bag has said he wants his snake back as he inherited it from his mother.
Grey Mupinganjire, 32, from a rural village about 60 miles south-east of Harare told the magistrate's court on Tuesday he owned the Egyptian cobra but insisted this was not an offence. He asked the police to return it to him.
Mr Mupinganjire was travelling in a small bus in Harare's southern suburbs last Sunday when police stopped the van and searched the passengers, the court heard.
When police found the cobra in his laptop bag, they arrested him and seized the deadly reptile.
Mr Mupinganjire was charged under the parks and wildlife act for having a reptile without a permit or licence while the animal was handed to the parks and wildlife management authority.
“Yes I was found in possession of a snake but it is my snake and belongs to me and should not have been forfeited. I don’t know why it was taken from me,” he told the court. He said his mother brought the snake from Malawi but that he could not prove that as she had died.
Magistrate Elijah Makomo described the case as "bizarre" and said the accused should be medically examined and remanded the case until Monday. Mr Mupinganjire said he was not insane and that he was grieving the loss of his snake which he used, like his mother once did, in traditional rituals.
The snake is believed to be worth about £60. The cobra, usually about six inches long, is also known as Naja Heje and is one of Africa's deadliest snakes. It has glands behind its eyes which produce a deadly neurotoxic venom that then runs through its fangs. Humans bitten by the cobra can die from respiratory failure within an hour.
Zimbabwe celebrated its snakes in postage stamps in 2005.
The Telegraph:
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