Okonkwo is pleased about the destruction of the church and feels that daily life is beginning to seem normal again. For once, the clan listened to his advice and acted like warriors, though they didn’t kill the missionary or drive the Christians out of Umuofia as he had urged.
When the District Commissioner returns from a trip and learns about the destruction of the church, he asks six leaders of the village, including Okonkwo, to meet with him in his government office. The six men agree but go to the meeting armed with their machetes.
The District Commissioner asks the village leaders, who have set their weapons aside, to explain their actions at the church to him and twelve other government men. As one of the leaders begins to tell about Enoch’s unmasking of an egwugwu, the twelve government men surprise the clan leaders by handcuffing them and taking them into a guardroom.
The Commissioner reminds them that he and his government promote peace and want to help them be happy. When they treat others wrongly, they must be judged in the government court of law—the law of the Commissioner’s “great queen.” The leaders were wrong to hurt others and burn Enoch’s house and the church. As a consequence, he says that they will be kept in prison, where they will be treated well and set free only after paying a fine of two hundred bags of cowries.
In prison, the guards repeatedly mistreat the six leaders, including shaving the men’s heads. The prisoners sit in silence for two days without food, water, or toilet facilities. On the third day, in desperation, they finally talk among themselves about paying the fine. Okonkwo reminds them that they should have followed his advice and killed the white man when they had the chance. A guard hears him and hits them all with his stick.
As soon as the leaders were locked up, court messengers went around the village telling everyone that the prisoners would be released only after the village paid a fine of two hundred and fifty bags of cowries—fifty of which the messengers would keep for themselves. Rumors circulated about possible hangings and shootings that occurred in Abame, including the families of the prisoners. At a town meeting, the Umuofians decide to collect the money immediately.
