{UAH} Allan: Python invades Museveni’s farm on eve of his birthday, shot dead

Allan,

I guess you now understand the danger of gate crushing President Museveni's birthday parties. Never gatecrash especially President Museveni's party moreover when it is a birthday party.

Now this python may have known about the coming celebration and as an elder, he decided to go early to prepare the place and possibly select the healthiest and juicy cow for the occasion being used to the terrain, took a short cut to the venue. Unfortunately, the scared pretenders shot at the visiting relative without asking. How do you kill a party goer even if he came uninvited? Remember what I said sometime about the risk of President Museveni stopping to take a telephone call in the bush area accurately pointing out that a python can go to him and his escorts shooting? Never joke with my prophesy!

Now contrast this with what happened in Serere, Teso Uganda. A married woman arranged to have a "quickie" with her boy-friend in a nearby bush as she went to the well to collect water. The alert python waited for them to remove their clothes, and start the game; then it pounced on them and tied them seriously. The cheating fellows both made the loudest alarm that attracted people, including the woman's husband. Seeing the real husband, the python gently let them go and left the scene. Now that was the case of adultery which was punishable by fines of cows, goats and some beatings. The husband considered the python as his best brother and  rewarded it (him?) for the work well done so he took one he-goat and tied it  in the bush for the python. And the he-goat disappeared, I think the python took it as there were signs of struggle and cries of the he-goat that night.

Among some First Nations people of Canada, there is a belief that when their relatives die, they can visit the living but come disguised as animals such as foxes, snakes, birds etc so they are quite careful how they treat such wild animals. There are stories of such animals appearing to save people or to convey very important messages for their people which only elders can interpret.

Back to the python that was killed. Who knows if that was not President Museveni's distant cousin that had gone to wish the president long life? Now that it is dead, the president should just offer it a descent burial; slaughter some cows for people to feast, that will appease the python's ( cousin) spirits. I think the Etesot that rewarded the python knew so well that only good intentioned people/things can help as that python helped to catch cheats, and handsomely recognized that help.

Never kill gatecrashers, Allan.

Peter Simon