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The story is like something out of a thriller or horror movie. Sample this: A snake extricates itself from the talons of an eagle, drops from the skies but lands on a moving car. In a flash, the serpent slithers into the car from the rooftop, settles on the passenger’s seat and bites the petrified driver.
A man who claims to have gone through this dreadful experience has been discharged from Mwingi Level 4 Hospital.
The man claims he was bitten by a black mamba after the snake was dropped by an eagle from the skies, entered his car and bit him on the hand. The serpent was later snatched by the angry bird, just as it was about to be set ablaze by a crowd that had helped kill it.
The main actor in this bizarre tale is David Musyoka, a driver working for the Kitui County government. He has since become the butt of jokes in WhatsApp groups, with the majority of people dismissing his story as a long tale. Others believe it revolves around the supernatural.
Musyoka claims that he was driving to Mwingi town on Monday evening from Mui Basin when the snake hit the roof of his car after it disentangling itself from the talons of the eagle. He claims the serpent slithered into his car from the passenger's seat and bit him on the left hand.
"I then stopped the car and people came to help me kill the snake. But before we could decide what to do with it, the eagle came again, tore through the crowd, picked the snake and flew away," Musyoka narrated from his hospital bed.
He says one of the people who helped kill the snake helped rush him to Mwingi Level 4 Hospital, about 6 kilometres away.
His boss, Dr Temi Mutia who is in charge of Value Addition in the county government told The Standard that indeed Musyoka called him on Monday evening as he waited for him in Mwingi town for fieldwork.
"He said he had been bitten by a snake and I asked if there was a health facility near where he was. Since there was none, he said he could drive to Mwingi level 4 since it was near," Mutia said.
He added that he was among the ones who received the driver at the hospital.
"However I did not know the circumstances under which he was bitten. What I have heard is bizarre," Mutia noted.
After discharge from the hospital, we contacted the driver to re-tell his ordeal but he claimed he was heading to Nairobi for a rest. He promised to call back but never did and did not pick subsequent calls.
According to science journals, a bite from a black mamba would kill a person within 45 minutes if the victim does not receive appropriate anti-venom.