libgtop has python bindings and supports most modern unixes including linux, BSD, solaris, and AIX. You probably already has it installed on your linux box.
ftp://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/sources/libgtop/ ftp://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/sources/gnome-python-extras/ -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
