Residents of Opar Sirinde in West Alego of Siaya County are gripped by fear after three huge snakes — believed to be pythons — invaded a house, a church, and a posho mill all within a single week, sparking panic and whispers of a village-wide curse.
The unsettling surge comes on the heels of rampant monkey invasions and crop raids, leaving villagers wondering what force has disrupted their once-peaceful community.
The latest incident unfolded on Sunday afternoon when shopkeeper Odhiambo Obwombe found a nine-foot python coiled menacingly at the base of his posho mill.
“My chicken have been going missing every day,” Odhiambo lamented. “Now I know why…”
Fearing the snake could escape or injure someone, locals quickly summoned renowned village snake charmer Richard Ombul to subdue the rowdy reptile. Ombul managed to restrain the python, but angry residents overwhelmed by fear and frustration descended on it, beating the snake to death before burning the carcass — a grim sign of a community pushed to its limits.
This marks the third python sighting within a 100-metre radius, following an earlier invasion of a homestead and a separate incident where a snake slithered into a church midweek.
Miyare Village Elder Oyamo Agwanda, who was on site during the posho mill drama, said the situation has now escalated beyond what villagers can handle.
“The influx of reptiles is alarming. We must urgently reach out to Kenya Wildlife Service before tragedy strikes,” he warned.
While some locals speak in hushed tones about curses, bad omens or snakes kept for witchcraft, wildlife experts point to real-world factors behind the sudden snake incursions. Habitat loss, environmental changes from climate change, extreme weather patterns, and an abundance of food sources such as rodents and chicken often drive snakes toward human settlements.
Human behaviour also plays a role — open food scraps attract rodents, which in turn attract snakes, while gaps in walls and poorly sealed or unused pit latrines provide easy entry points for reptiles seeking shelter.
With both monkeys and pythons showing up in increased numbers, residents have resorted to escorting children, avoiding early-morning and late-evening movement, and keeping torches by their bedsides.
Local leaders are now calling on KWS to deploy a rapid-response team to assess the situation and put in place measures to protect the community.
For now, Opar Sirinde remains a village on edge — watching every rustle in the grass, listening for every unusual sound, and praying the next python does not appear before help arrives.
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