On February 17, 2002, a young woman was going about her household chores at Wasare village in Nyakach, Kisumu County, when her daughter came running towards her panting like a gazelle that had escaped from the paws of a lioness.
'Mama, Mama, there is a huge snake at the gate, the daughter, Nancy Achieng, delivered the shocking news.
Benter Atieno Ochieng quickly ran towards the direction that her daughter was pointing at to witness the unbelievable news. When she arrived, Ms Ochieng found the gigantic reptile brooding over her eggs.
Python Omieri back in limelight with exhibition Kisumu residents to view Omieri during festivalAt that moment, Ms Ochieng could not comprehend the full impact of that message delivered at around 1pm. Little did she know that it would later change not only her name, life and that of the Wasare clan, but it would also remain etched in the cultural folklore of the Luo community.
It turned out that the serpent at her gate was the legendary snake known in the Luo community as Omieri.
'My grandmother used to tell me a lot about Omieri. I was also told about how it should be treated. When she became my guest, I knew exactly what I was required to do,' said Ms Ochieng.
She set up a shed for the python a few meters away from the main house.
At first, Ms Ochieng did not know what to feed her special guest but later realised that it could eat fish and chicken. She claims that the reptile had the ability to tell if the food it was served was given out of a pure heart or not.
Omieri was a heavy feeder and could drink up to 40 liters of water every day,' said Ms Ochieng.
Her home soon turned into a mini-snake park, going by the huge number of curious people who came to see Omieri. Residents later learnt that Omieri was 28 years old, 16 feet long and weighed 58 kilogrammes.
It reached a point where I had to charge those who wanted to see it it a small fee. Children were paying Sh2 while adults parted with Sh5,' recalled Ms Ochieng.
Her decision to host the snake earned her the nickname Mama Omieri.
But all was not smooth. Ms Ochieng said that at some point, she got so overwhelmed and locked herself up inside her house to keep away from the endless sea of humanity that gathered at her home.
When the Kenya Wildlife Service (KSW) caught wind of the happenings, it came knocking.
Omieri hatched 77 snakelets, but two died. Ms Ochieng used to feed the serpent with rats, fish, and chicken provided by the KWS.
Ms Ochieng recalled that every day at 10am, Omieri and her young ones would bask in the sun.
Some people lauded her efforts of hosting the python, while others wanted to kill. They accused her of practising witchcraft.
Ms Ochieng said during the 163 days that she stayed with the gigantic snake, she was able to learn a number of things about it.
'When you gave Omieri food but had second thoughts about it, she would easily detect and reject it,' said Ms Ochieng.
She was trained for a month at Kisumu on how to handle such incidents.
Omieri left Wasare with her young ones on July 29, 2002, and was never to be seen again.
Prior to this, another python also known as Omieri had visited Wasare village in 1987 but escaped into the nearby bushes. Residents said that it may have become agitated by huge number of people who gathered to view it.
A group of students from a local school set the bushes on fire in a bid to smoke out the python. Unfortunately, the fierce fire partly burnt the serpent because it was unable to flee for safety.
By the time the KWS personnel arrived at the scene, the python had sustained serious injuries and was taken to the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi for treatment.
But it developed a septic infection in the mouth that adversely affected its feeding. Omieri died on July 9, 1987 at the Nairobi Snake Park.
An autopsy done on it revealed that it succumbed to a gastro-intestinal tract blockage from a ring of roundworms. Internal injuries caused by third degree burns from the fire and a rotting mouth may have also contributed to its death.
Residents of Nyakach living in Nairobi are said to have declared three days of mourning, while those who were upcountry set up a funeral fund for Omieri's burial.
Some demanded that Omieri's body be released to them by the National Museums of Kenya, but their wish was denied.
