Mutare Market Chaos: Police Called As Thousands Of Bees Hijack Chingoro After Its Operator Cheats Gogo Of Her $7 Change

A Sakubva pushcart operator fled after a swarm of bees settled on his cart at the market, moments after he allegedly refused to return US$7 change to an elderly woman who had hired him to move her goods.

The incident took place today at Sakubva Market, where the woman engaged the operator, known only as Happy, to transport her belongings from Mwamuka Market to the bus rank. He initially quoted US$3 for the job, witnesses said.

The woman paid with a US$10 note. Witnesses said Happy then told her the load was too heavy and that the fee had risen to US$10. The woman pleaded with him not to change the agreed price, but he left with the money, they said.

She continued to the rank and boarded a bus bound for Chiredzi. As the bus was pulling away, bees descended on the operator’s pushcart. Happy ran from the scene as vendors and travellers gathered to watch.

Police were deployed to maintain order at the busy market. The bees remained on the cart and, despite a series of attempts to provoke them, did not attack people, according to accounts from the scene.

The abrupt turn of events came after an ordinary market transaction had become a dispute over the fare and the woman’s change. The account of the disagreement came from witnesses at the market. The operator’s version of the exchange was not available.

The elderly woman had hired the cart operator for a short journey between two busy trading and transport points in Sakubva. Once she handed over the US$10 note, the price dispute left her without the US$7 change she expected. Witnesses said she objected when the operator said the load was heavier than expected and demanded the higher fee.

The bees’ arrival drew attention away from the argument. People in the market stopped to watch as the swarm gathered on the cart, while the operator ran. Police officers were sent to keep the crowd in order as vendors and passengers watched from nearby.

No one was reported to have been stung in Sakubva. The bees did not spread through the market or pursue the woman as she left on the Chiredzi-bound bus. Their presence was confined to the cart, according to the accounts provided.

The episode recalls other reports in the region in which bees appeared during disputes over alleged wrongdoing, prompting some people to talk about juju and traditional intervention. The circumstances varied: a dispute over a transport fee in Sakubva, a stolen television in Shackleton and a bee invasion at a courthouse in Uganda.

In July, a family in Shackleton near Chinhoyi said they recovered a stolen television after a man arrived at their home surrounded by bees. Tracy Munyaradzi said the television disappeared while her family was away at a memorial service. Her younger sister suggested contacting a traditional healer, who came to the house that evening.

Munyaradzi said the healer asked her husband to show where the television had stood, burned ashes inside the house and told the family that his men would find the person responsible within two days. On Tuesday night, around 11pm, they heard someone calling for help outside. Munyaradzi said her husband opened the door and saw a man holding their television while bees covered him.

The man returned the television and said he had been on his way to sell it in Lion’s Den when the bees surrounded him. Munyaradzi said the insects continued to swarm around his head, neck and back after he sat down. The healer arrived at about 2am. He first tried to take the television from the man, then sprinkled herbs on Munyaradzi’s husband’s hands and asked him to lift the set. Her husband was then able to take it.

The healer took the man to his base. Munyaradzi said her family and the man reached an agreement there, and the matter was settled through compensation rather than an arrest. In that account, the television was recovered and the man was released after the settlement.

A bee swarm also interrupted proceedings at Mbale High Court in Uganda on 23 April this year. The insects emerged from the basement cells at about 5pm and spread into courtrooms, offices and the compound, stinging people and forcing staff, officers and others to retreat. The proceedings were disrupted as the swarm moved beyond the cells and into the surrounding area.

The Mbale incident differed from the one in Sakubva: bees reportedly stung people at the court, while those in Sakubva stayed on the cart and did not attack anyone. The court swarm prompted suspicions of witchcraft among some local residents and staff.

Zimbabwe has also recorded a fatal bee attack. Chief Chiweshe, Joseph Chigariro, died in 2013 after being attacked by wild bees at his home in Chiweshe. He was 82. The incident was a stark contrast to the market scene: the bees at Sakubva caused alarm and sent one man running, but no injuries were reported.

For vendors and travellers at Sakubva, the day’s drama began with a disagreement over a fare and ended with a swarm on a pushcart. Police were called to keep the market orderly, the operator ran, and the bus carrying the woman left for Chiredzi. The US$7 change remained at the centre of the dispute, while the bees’ sudden appearance became the scene everyone had gathered to watch.