Online Reporter
Sipho Mercent Nyathi
LUVEVE residents are in a frenzy again over what is believed to be the biggest serpent ever to “rent space” outside a Hollywood movie set.
The creature, famously named Masilela after the iconic beer garden nearby, has slithered its way through folklore for more than 30 years.
Around Entembeni Old People’s Home, Inzwananzi Primary School and Masilela Beer Garden, the story is as common as gossip at a funeral. Everyone knows the snake. Everyone has heard of the snake. Half the suburb swears they have seen it, the other half insists it is an urban legend. A few whisper that it belongs to a witch. Others say it is a spiritual serpent assigned to guard the land.
What is striking is the consistency of the descriptions from those who claim to have met the beast face to face.
“It is huge. Probably about five metres long and thick as a tree trunk and brownish in colour,” one resident told B-Metro, clutching his chest as if the memory alone needed prayer.
Gogo Rose Ndlovu (85) said she first heard of Masilela back in the 1980s.
“One of my relatives saw it in the 1990s. That boy came home looking like he had seen a ghost. He could not breathe.
When he finally told us what he saw, nobody dared to go and check,” she said.
Pointing toward the swampy patch near Masilela Beer Garden, the old woman added:
“It lives somewhere under that bridge. It has never attacked anyone. I do not know what it eats. Only God knows.”
While some speak calmly, others deliver Hollywood-level drama.
Thulani Dube provided the most cinematic account.
“It was sometime around 2018. I was crossing the stream with a friend. I saw something huge slithering ahead of me.
I grew up in Matopo. I have seen snakes big before. But this one? My life flashed in front of my eyes. That thing could have swallowed me whole,” he said, already sweating at the memory.
According to Thulani, the snake simply glided away, minding its own mysterious business. He and his friend, however, ran as if chased by the devil himself.
“We broke world records that day. Fear gave us wings. When we got home, people did not believe us. I could not eat.
Even now, my heart beats funny when I think about it.”
His wife, Siphilisiwe and daughter Mitchel backed him up with matching alarm.
“He was vibrating with fear and his eyes were wide like saucers. He loves his food but that day he did not eat. That is how I knew it was serious,” said Siphilisiwe.
Market gardener Mayibongwe Ndlovu said he saw Masilela in 2001.
“It is a thick brown snake. Many besides me have seen it. It was going towards Inzwanazi Primary School. I fled.
People say it belongs to someone around here,” he claimed.
Not everyone buys into the giant reptile hype. Some even warned B-Metro to stop asking questions.
Kelvin Moyo (88) gave B-Metro a chilling warning.
“It does exist but it is not a normal snake. I warn you not to write about it. There will be dire consequences. A snake lives up to fifteen years but this one has been here more than 40 years. That should tell you something. Be warned.”
On the opposite side of the belief scale is 28-year-old botanist Bongani Moyo, who rolled his eyes at the entire saga.
“Look at this place. If such a big snake lived here, everyone would have seen it by now. We would be hearing of dogs disappearing. Even people. What would such a big snake be eating? This is just an urban legend that grew legs over time,” he said.
Yet the story grows deeper. The church has entered the chat.
Pastor Moyo of a local Pentecostal church, who claims to have prayed for residents troubled by dreams of the snake, offered a stern spiritual angle.
“This is not an ordinary creature. Whether it is physical or spiritual, something ancient is connected to that area. People must pray. Something that lives beyond its natural lifespan is not just a reptile. It is a symbol of bondage. We advise residents to avoid mocking it. Evil feeds on attention,” he said.
So is Masilela, a colossal serpent slithering through leave’s reeds, an immortal mythical guardian, a witch’s pet, or simply a tale that has grown taller than the Nkulumane flyover?
In Luveve, the legend lives on. The swamp under the bridge remains quiet. But as the sun sets and the shadows stretch across the stream, even the skeptics admit one thing.
Something big is out there. Or at least, something big lives in the minds of those who swear they saw it.
