...The big reptile was playing on the dashboard of a dark grey Toyota Front Runner, registered 313 9I67 belonging to a Colonel of the defense forces.

On Thursday, October 16, 2014 around 12:48pm, the Boulevard du 20 May was the scene of chaos as frightened and stunned crowd killed and burned a large boa constrictor that was found in the service vehicle of a soldier.

According to testimonies from car-washmen on a vacant lot on the left side of the Hilton Hotel in Yaoundé, the senior officer whose identity was not revealed, had come to attend the farewell Mass dedicated to the mother-in-law of the president held that same day at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Victories.

Before going to church, the colonel whose car was obviously dirty had requested for it to be washed on the outside, taking advantage of the period and then he crossed the road with his driver to the building housing the Office of the SCF.

It was a few minutes later that the washers saw the head and part of the body, a huge boa constrictor on the dashboard of the vehicle.

One of the washers said: "We were about to wash the Front Runner of the Colonel, when my colleague who was not far from the car, saw the big snake head on the dashboard. He immediately cried out, snake! At first, everyone thought it was a joke ... When we approached the vehicle, we realized that a very large snake actually was inside."

The colonel and his driver returned quickly. Eye witnesses at the scene said the soldier proclaimed: "In the name of Jesus Christ" before handing the car keys to his driver who was helped by the washers and other onlookers to put the boa to death after about half an hour of fighting.

"When we managed to kill the snake, the colonel asked us to burn it, after that, he gave us a cheque for 10,000 CFA, before leaving the scene", concluded our interlocutor.