SABC (Johannesburg, S Africa) 08 December 05 Newspaper caught in snake joke
A newspaper was caught by an April Fool's style joke this week when two men claimed to have been attacked by a 2.5m python - which had in fact been dead for six months. Earlier this week, the Sowetan newspaper reported that two men, William Molefe and Joel Bojosi, killed a non-poisonous African rock python named "Soekie" at a Randfontein dumping site in self-defence.
Molefe and Bojose claimed that they were collecting recycable material at the site on Monday, when they encountered "Soekie" which "menacingly" attacked them. However, in a new twist of events, The Beeld newspaper today reported that the owner of the snake contacted them and said that the snake died six months ago, making it impossible that "Soekie" could have attacked them.
"After Soekie died I placed her in my mother-in law's fridge because I wanted to keep it. She later got fed up saying the snake was starting to smell. It was then that we disposed of Soekie," Hein van Jaarsveld, the owner, told the newspaper.
Sowetan believed at the time that Molefe and Bojose were shocked at the incident and had killed "Soekie" by throwing bricks at the snake. Randfontein police confirmed today that the men lied about killing "Soekie". "The men will not face any charges as this is not a criminal matter," Regan Mecuur, a police spokesperson, said.
Mecuur said she suspected that in actual fact, Molefe and Bojose found that snake dead. "They were dragging the snake through the streets and had brought it to the police station. Community members were anxious as to what the men were pulling and alerted police. "We can't do anything. This is a very funny story," she said.
Newspaper caught in snake joke