On one occasion a fight broke out in the street between a tailor and a woman who owed him three pence. As she had been passing his shop, the tailor asked her for his money, and one of his apprentices grabbed her by her skirt. The other apprentices began clapping at her and crying in rhythm, "Hey, hey, hey, hey." At this she became angry and demanded of the tailor, "What have I done to be clapped at in this way? Is a debt of three pence cause enough for me to be treated so? What have I done to deserve this?" As the tailor had no answer, she began striking, rather ineffectually, at him. At this point an elderly man got between them, taking a stick to separate them but not striking anyone with it. As he was anxious to have the dispute settled so that he could leave, he called to the acting head of the nearest compound to stop them.

When the compound head told them to stop, they did so even though the woman was still tense with anger. If they had continued to fight, the one who struck the first blow after having been told to stop would have been judged guilty. The woman was asked to speak, then the tailor, then the woman, and then the man again. If either had interrupted the other, he or she would have been told to keep quiet and would have been shoved and hit until he did so. As it turned out, the woman had gone to the tailor for a small piece of work and, when she came back to pick it up, he made advances to her. She had refused him, saying that three pence was not enough for her to become his concubine, that her husband would be angry with her if she did, that the tailor had also made advances to her co-wife who had refused, and that it seemed that he was trying to hurt their husband. The tailor had little to say, except that the woman owed him three pence.

By his time a large group of onlookers had assembled. If anyone present wished, they could question either party; and, if necessary, nearby witnesses could be called. After this, anyone present could give his opinion in the order of seniority, with the younger people speaking first. In this case only adult men gave their opinions, followed by the acting compound head who summed up what had been said as their judgment. However, as he was younger than some of those present, including at least one man from a different compound, he called upon the elders to give the final judgment. This was that the boy who had grabbed the woman had done wrong and would be flogged when he returned home; that the woman was in the right; and that if the tailor made any more trouble they would turn the case over to the authorities, and that in the Native Administration Court he would be liable for a fine. The tailor was grateful for this, and the woman, who had been vindicated, bowed in acknowledgment of her acceptance of the verdict.