Passbook Number F.47927

Abstract

Passbook Number F.47927 was my own passbook. The pass-book was an identity card the Colonial government required of people belonging to the ethnic groups suspected of deep involvement in Mau Mau. The ethnic groups branded as Mau Mau came mostly from the Central Province and around Mount Kenya: the Kikuyus on the south and west of the mountain; the Meru on the north; and the Embu on the east. Anyone from these groups was subject to continuous suspicion and scrutiny. If one lived in the towns, particularly in Nairobi, one needed a passbook.