Disgruntled Absa client Abel Manamela did not so much laugh as hiss all the way to the bank.
The incensed Manamela carried five deadly puff adders which he released into the reception area of the bank's central Johannesburg headquarters, scaring the wits out of staff and visitors.
Contract worker Pieter Griffin picked up the snakes and put them in a box. He was bitten on the hand when he tried to stop one escaping.
Malcolm Midgley and Gavin Wilson of Johannesburg Emergency Services responded to Absa's call and quickly secured the snakes in a large sealed plastic bucket, appropriately marked "Live Venomous Snakes".
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'I am now mentally disturbed because of this' Griffin was treated and admitted to hospital, where his condition was being monitored.
A crowd of curious onlookers - including a client of a nearby hair salon with a towel wrapped around her head - gathered outside the offices to catch a glimpse of what was going on.
The incident took place on Thursday when Manamela, who has been involved in a dispute with Absa for the past five years, made good on his threat to "deliver some snakes to your premises" if his car or his money were not returned to him.
According to Manamela, he bought a Ford Courier bakkie in 1998. He fell behind on his payments but made them up quickly at some point. He had statements to prove this.
While Manamela believes he was six months in advance on his payments, documents he has show that his vehicle was repossessed and more than R2 000 was written off by the bank.
Angry and confused, Manamela wrote to the bank in July 2002, saying he was distressed by the repossession and was contemplating taking snakes into the bank.
A letter from client services said the bank considered the matter closed and he should "feel free to proceed with the threats you made".
"I have tried to solve this matter for several years.
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