Government Opens Etche Court; Etche Rising of 17 July 1907

In December 1906 the government decided to open a court at Okomoko to serve the Etche people; in March 1907 Mr Isaiah Yellow was sent to superintend the erection of court buildings and to become its first clerk. Before the court formally opened, Yellow and the appointed Warrant Chiefs tried cases illegally, charged exorbitant fees, imposed heavy fines, and forced people to refer cases to them. On 17 July 1907 the Etche rose against Yellow, the Warrant Chiefs, and the court, razed the court buildings to the ground, and chased the court clerk and all collaborators out of Etche. A strong military force under Captain W. Haywood subsequently over-ran Etche, forced the people to surrender their guns, rebuild the court houses, and pay compensation for all property damaged.