Bees attack mourners during a burial in Kirinyaga

A bee flying/FILE

Shock and pain engulfed Huruma village in Mwea, Kirinyaga County, on Wednesday after a swarm of bees attacked mourners who were attending a funeral service.

The mourners were forced to abandon the burial service and run for their lives, leaving the body unattended for hours. Scores of the mourners sustained injuries and had to be rushed to a local health facility for treatment in pain.

They said the incident that happened at around 2pm on Tuesday was dumbfounding and that the bees descended upon them from nearby trees, causing confusion.

Reverend Irene Gitari from the ACK church said the funeral service for Faith Njeri had been conducted at the St. Luke Wang’uru church and had concluded well.

The incident, however, happened at the gravesite when the final prayers were made and the coffin was lowered into the grave.

“When they started putting the soil back into the grave, the bees came from the trees and attacked, and everybody ran away,” the Reverend said.

She said the coffin was left in the grave unattended for a few hours as mourners looked for ways to shield themselves from the stings.

Some could be seen with makeshift bee smokers as they frantically tried to repel the bees from the compound to allow the burial rites to be concluded.

Peter Kamau, one of the attendees said the bees were attracted by some women wearing sweet-smelling perfume and attacked more than 300 mourners.

He said after the ordeal, those who were still near the deceased's homestead returned to the grave site, where they quietly carried on with the rites.

“Once the bees reduced, the few of us who were remaining near the home went back and finished the burial,” he said, adding that the burial service ended unceremoniously.