A man on Friday was sentenced to two years in jail or Sh1 million fine after he pleaded guilty to transporting a python without a permit from the Kenya Wildlife Service.
Benedict Karissa Fondo, 33, was arrested on the Likoni ferry on Tuesday with a 2.3-metre long python. The snake that weighed 10kgs was wrapped in a bedsheet and placed in a suitcase. He was transporting the snake to Ukunda.
He was intercepted by security officers as he was passing the Kenya Ferry Service screening area.
Karissa pleaded guilty on Wednesday but the prosecution requested more time to confirm his name since he did not have an ID at the time of his arrest.
He pleaded with Mombasa resident magistrate Vincent Adet for a lenient sentence, saying he was a first time offender.
"Your honor, I was taught by my late father how to handle snakes since I was young," he said.
The snake was handed back to the Kenya Wildlife Service in Mombasa.
KWS has been keeping the snake since Karissa’s arrest.
