Bee attack leaves two children dead in Kitui

A village in Kitui County is in shock after a swarm of bees descended on a family in a bizarre attack that left two children dead.

Joy Muthini Kang'ola, from Ngakaani village in Lower Yatta, was rescued by her neighbours after fleeing her home under heavy attack.

Ms Kango'la, who is admitted at Kitui Level Five Hospital, narrated how the attack happened around noon on Wednesday as her children were playing in the compound.

"One of my children was attacked first but in no time thousands of them swarmed all over biting everybody in sight" she narrated.

FLEE

The middle aged woman, who is expectant picked the youngest and decided to run while holding the hand of the one of the toddlers.

 "Unfortunately, the kid who was on my back slipped through and fell down, and in the process of picking her up, the other one collapsed" she narrated the incident at the hospital. 

The two children died on the spot as their mother was rescued by neighbours who sprayed the bees with pesticides managing to contain them.

Her two other kids were saved by the young sister who grabbed a blanket in the house and instead of running away decided to lie on the ground and cover them.

Ms Kang'ola was rushed to the nearby heath centre and later transferred to Kitui Level Five Hospital where she was admitted together with the surviving children.

Chief Mutua Kasaya, said the bees, believed to be migrating to escape the hot weather, had camped on a tree near the family's house, the previous night, and were hovering around the house ostensibly in search of water.

Dr Muo Kasina, a bee expert explained the bee attack phenomenon is related to climate change in the sense that the bees are unable to cope with the harsh weather and vacating the hives in search of cooler place.

Dr Kasina, a director at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Karlo) said the bee attack is a new phenomenon but the bees are likely to react that way because of irritating weather and that availability of water in the compound may have saved the situation.

"The tragic bees attack is the consequences of the warming planet. The temperatures are becoming too unbearable even to every surviving creature including flies, birds, insects and even wild animals" said the scientist when asked to comment on the phenomenon.