Businessman stung to death by bees

By Conrad Mupesa

A prominent Mhangura businessman, Mr Costa Bakkaris, died recently after being stung by bees he kept at his residence in the low density suburb of the now defunct mining settlement.

According to reports from local police, Mr Bakkaris (76) was feeding his bees with sugar before he accidentally fell on the bees in the morning of August 9.

The police sources said the swarm of bees attacked him, leading to his death.

One of his workers, who was commenting on condition of anonymity, expressed shock at the death, as Mr Bakkaris had been feeding the bees for a number of years without incident.

“He is said to have been feeding his bees, a thing he has been doing since he started keeping the bees at his residence,” he said.

Police sources said the bees were agitated when Mr Bakkaris disturbed them.

“We are not yet sure as to what really caused the death as a full post mortem is yet to be conducted, but Mr Bakkaris also had a history of suffering from heart problems,” said the police source. The Greek businessman operated various retail outlets in Mhangura and Ruwa, where he specialised in supermarkets and bakeries.

Mr Bakkaris, together with his wife, offered wide range of services to the then workers at Mhangura Copper Mine. The Herald