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Nqobile Tshili Chronicle Correspondent
A swarm of bees attacked members of the public in Bulawayo yesterday after the insects were allegedly provoked by frustrated kombi crews who wanted to stop people from using pirate taxis.
Pirate taxis and registered commuter omnibuses have often engaged in “wars” for commuters on the city’s various routes.
Yesterday’s incident happened at around 9AM at Corner Leopold Takawira Avenue (Gwanda road) and St Luke’s Street which leads to United Bulawayo Hospitals.
Members of the public, who sought refuge in a nearby food caravan, had to call the Fire Brigade officers to deal with the menacing bees. They were, however, disappointed as the officers told them that they could only attend to the bees in the evening.
Witnesses said business came to a standstill as the bees blocked the way to the hospital. They said some of the bees found their way into some passing cars and stung passengers.
One of the victims, Simelani Zhou, who had a swollen face, accused UBH Kombi crews of provoking the bees.
“They are losing commuters as people prefer using private cars. The touts provoked the bees so that no person coming from the hospital can pass here. It has become their habit of provoking the bees whenever business is low. This is not the first time they have done this,” said Zhou.
Andrew Mlotshwa, a cobbler who operates within the same area, blamed the UBH touts for the bee-attack on members of the public. He said stern measures must be taken against them as they were putting people’s lives at risk.
“These touts should be arrested because they use bees to force people to board their kombis. I haven’t done any work today and I’ve a family to feed. I was stung by the bees more than 10 times,” said Mlotshwa.
He said he was forced to seek refuge at a nearby fast food caravan.
“I rushed into the caravan for my safety. The women in the caravan had to close the door for about an hour as the bees kept on attacking people,” said Mlotshwa.
A caravan worker, Candice Moffat, said one person was rushed to hospital after being attakced by the bees.
She also blamed the kombi crews for provoking the bees.
The kombi crews at the health institution denied ever provoking bees saying everything bad is always blamed on touts.
A tout, Prosper Ndlovu, denied that they provoked bees as a way of scaring customers away from private cars.
“Yes, we are having problems with pirate taxis but why would we provoke bees? Anywhere those bees are at the turnoff to the hospital while the pirate taxis pick commuters just outside the gate of the hospital,” said Ndlovu.
He said the bees were probably agitated by the heat.
“It’s too hot these days and the metal bee-hives heat up causing bees to attack people. These bees move from pole to pole whenever they are sprayed by the Fire Brigade. They used to be in the third pole from the road now they are on the first one,” he said.
The Fire Brigade had to assist vendors in removing their wares from the bee-hive pole.
Bulawayo’s Chief Fire Officer, Richard Peterson, said his officers could not deal with bees in the afternoon.
“We can only attend to the bees at night and my officers are going there in the evening accompanied by an electrician to destroy the bees. I hope by tomorrow we won’t be having the same problem,” said Peterson.
Online Reporter