MMEGI (Gaberones, Botswana) 26 October 06 Police nab python wielding doctor (Ryder Gabathuse)
Francistown: A 34-year-old Zimbabwean traditional doctor is in custody after he was caught with a live python at the Ramokgwebana border last week.
Police officers at the border got the shock of their lives when the 1.8 metre reptile uncoiled from a mealie-meal bag they squeezed during a search at 8pm.
Tshesebe police station commander, Superintendent Mojaboswa Mathitha said yesterday that a traditional doctor claiming to be from Chipinga in Zimbabwe was arrested on October 18 after confessing he owned the snake. "When interviewed by the police, he claimed that he was taking the python to Gabane village near Gaborone, where he was going to attend to some of his clients," said Mathitha. The man has been charged for unlawful possession of a government trophy. He is liable to a fine of P5,000 or five years imprisonment on conviction. Mathitha said the traditional doctor was supposed to have produced a permit for possession and importation of the python, but he failed. He stressed that according to the law, when a wild animal crosses the common border it belongs to the country it has entered.
The police are hopeful that when the traditional doctor appears for his next mention on November 2, the wildlife biologist would have completed an affidavit confirming that the snake caught is indeed a python, which is classified as a government trophy. Mathitha said this the first case handled by Tshesebe police since he was posted to the station in 1998. He appealed to the public to report to the police when they have reasonable suspicion that a person is in illegal possession of a government trophy.
Police nab python wielding doctor

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• BWA Press: Police nab python wielding Dr - W von Papineäu, Wed Nov 1 18:32:28 2006