Kimberley - A 52-year-old Kimberley man was bitten by a snake and is now fighting for his life in Kimberley Hospital’s intensive care unit, prompting Colville residents to take to the streets on Thursday in a protest calling for service delivery and a clean-up of the area by the Sol Plaatje Municipality.
Arthur Swanepoel was on Thursday still in a critical condition in Kimberley Hospital’s ICU ward after being bitten by a snake, believed by residents to be a cobra, on Monday.
According to the residents, Swanepoel was bitten on the hand after he got between the snake and a group of children.
Family members of Swanepoel, who were on Thursday gathered around his hospital bed, said that they had “little hope” of Swanepoel recovering, as he was already “being kept alive by machines”.
Swanepoel’s nephew, Vernon Moss, said that “there is nothing more that can be done for my uncle now”.
Meanwhile, Colville residents on Thursday blocked roads and burnt tyres in the area adjacent to a canal that they say has become a “breeding ground for deadly snakes”.
“This canal has become a danger to our children and residents, with one man now fighting for his life. We call on the Sol Plaatje Municipality to come and clear this canal which is so overgrown in places that it is not even visible anymore,” one Colville resident stated.
Another added that several incidents involving snakes had occurred in the suburb
