There’s a snake in court!

Sharon Mathala
SNAKELESS: BDF Snake Squad were unable to find anything

*Cleaning staff convinced big black snake lurks within

*BDF search turns up nothing

Business came to a standstill at Gaborone High Court on Wednesday following two reported sightings of ‘a big, black snake’ in one of the second floor offices.

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Although a thorough two-day search of the premises turned up nothing, traumatized cleaning staff remain adamant there is a potentially deadly serpent lurking within their workplace.

Shortly after receiving the unusual report, The Voice team rushed to court to find staff huddled together in small groups discussing the unnerving discovery.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the cleaners revealed the serpent spotting started the previous day.

“The snake was first spotted yesterday [Tuesday] but no one believed the first person who saw it. We all thought she was hallucinating and so we went on as usual.”

However, a second sighting has convinced staff the snake is very real.

“This morning when I reported for duty I heard one of the ladies scream from the second floor. When we rushed to her, we found her shaking and scratching herself all over. She was hysterical and screaming, trying to catch her breath. She eventually told us that she saw a snake, ” continued the wide-eyed source, adding her colleague’s terror ‘was real’.

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According to our source, those who saw the reptile described it as huge and bearing a strong resemblance to a black mamba.

“When we arrived at the office she was in, the snake had disappeared. We believe her because these are two separate incidents by two different people,” stated the cleaning lady, adding she was dreading coming into work the next day.

However, despite an extensive search by the Department of Wildlife and Parks on Tuesday and a follow-up inspection by the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) on Wednesday, the snake was nowhere to be found.

In a brief interview with The Voice, Gaborone High Court Safety Health and Environmental officer (SHE) Tabby Maphangela revealed she was made aware of the snake sighting at 07.30am on Wednesday.

“The Botswana Defence Force Snake Squad was called and they did not find any snake in their search. Counselling was offered to the affected person,” Maphangela said.

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Asked if they suspect witchcraft, which is often associated with influencing court proceedings, she responded simply, “We do not have any idea if those perceptions are associated with witchcraft.”

Real or imagined? The High Court cleaning staff are in little doubt what they saw is genuine and possibly extremely dangerous.

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