Panic and confusion gripped the Ngara area of Nairobi earlier tonight as a grisly road accident outside City Primary School sparked initial fears of a mass casualty event. First responders and union officials at the scene initially estimated as many as 10 fatalities, sending shockwaves through the ongoing KUPPET elections.

The chaotic scenes unfolded when a speeding matatu lost control and rolled multiple times, trapping passengers inside the mangled wreckage. The wails of the injured and the sight of motionless bodies led to the grim early estimates, as desperate onlookers tried to pull survivors from the debris before ambulances arrived.

The Fog of War

"It looked like a war zone," said witness Mary Atieno. "There were bodies everywhere. We thought we had lost everyone." The initial reports of "10 feared dead" spread like wildfire on social media, causing agony for families of teachers who were attending the union polls at the nearby school.

• Clarification: Police and medical teams have since clarified the situation. While the crash was indeed horrific, confirmed reports indicate one fatality and 14 serious injuries. The discrepancy highlights the chaos of the immediate aftermath, where unconscious victims were mistaken for dead.
• The Tension: The accident occurred in a highly charged atmosphere, with teachers gathered for high-stakes elections. The crash site, just meters from the tallying center, brought the democratic process to a standstill as educators rushed to save their colleagues.

A Sobering Reminder

While the death toll is mercifully lower than first feared, the tragedy remains immense. The incident serves as a grim case study of how quickly misinformation can spread in the wake of a disaster, but more importantly, it underscores the fragility of life on Nairobi's perilous roads. For the teachers of Nairobi, what began as a day of politics ended in a night of prayer.