Horror as bees sting 90-year-old granny to death

A 90-year-old woman died Wednesday after a swarm of bees attacked her in Githuri-ini village, Nyeri County.

Elizabeth Nyawira was babysitting her two grandchildren when the bees attacked her, killing her on the spot.

When the bees began building a hive at her home in January, she gave instructions that they should be chased away lest they attacked.

Her family did everything to keep the bees away but after a few days, they would return and rebuild.

Ms Nyawira eventually asked her children and grandchildren to leave the bees alone. In fact, the family has been harvesting honey from the hive.

But Nyawira's initial fears came to pass when the bees struck. Her grandchildren survived the attack.

Elizabeth Nyawira, a great granddaughter, said the bees had never attacked anyone before Wednesday.

"We had tried to scare them away using smoke when they first came. They would leave and return. Grandma then told us to let them be. They have been making honey, which we have been harvesting, and there was no major issue with them," she said.

"We were expecting to harvest honey by December but the unexpected has happened. We regret not chasing the bees away," the younger Nyawira said.

The village is still trying to come to terms with the tragedy. Catherine Ndirangu, a neighbour, confirmed that the bees had never attacked anyone.

"We heard screams and when we went to see what was happening, we found the insects had attacked them. We were unable to get to Nyawira, who was on the ground unconscious, for fear that the bees would attack us. We only managed to save the children, who had crawled away, by covering them with blankets," Ms Ndirangu said.

She said her husband was also stung as he tried save Nyawira.

"We eventually managed to covered her with a blanket and rushed her to Outspan Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival," she said.

This comes barely a fortnight after an elderly man was mauled to death by dogs in the same area. Kahuru Mathenge, 75, died when he wandered into a home where two German shepherds attacked and killed him.

County officials removed the killer bees Wednesday.