KAMPALA- There was a stampede at Kyegegwa court in Kyegegwa, Kabalore District, some 280 kilometres south of Kampala, as court litigants fled after a green snake was discovered in the magistrate’s chambers.
The lunch time reptile scare happened when Grade One Magistrate Derrick Byamugisha was hearing a criminal case in his chambers at about 1pm, according to the Judiciary’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Erias Kisawuzi.
Mr Kisawuzi said since the chambers of the magistrate are small, some of the litigants stayed outside.
As the proceedings were on-going, some of the litigants who were seated outside the chambers saw the green reptile climbing a chair near the magistrate’s seat.
“It’s at this time that the court clerk swung into action, ran out of the chambers and grabbed a big stick that he used to kill the snake,” Mr Kisawuzi said on Wednesday. “There was a stamped at the court for some time following the incident and the magistrate was forced to stop the proceedings.”
Asked about the environment of the court, Mr Kisawuzi said the court is housed in a rented commercial structure which is shared with other tenants.
He suspected the reptile could have come from the neighbouring houses since there is no bush near the court premises.
Mr Kisawuzi said if the courts were housed in proper premises, such embarrassing scenarios could be avoided.
Early this year, a snake was found in the cargo area on a Muscat-bound flight from Dubai.
Baggage handlers found the snake on the Emirates aircraft. A full search of the plane was done before it could transport passengers to Muscat. – Daily Monitor
