§ 39. Mr. Manuelasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how far the possession of passbooks is obligatory on persons of all races and of all African tribes in Kenya; and to what areas the obligation applies.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe passbook regulations at present apply only to Kikuyu, Embu and Meru above the age of 16 living in the Nairobi Extra-Provincial District and the Coast Province.
§ Mr. ManuelCould the right hon. Gentleman inform the House why this obligation is imposed only on Africans, and could he also say how many prosecutions have taken place up to date?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydI should have thought that the realities of the situation in Kenya today would give the hon. Gentleman the answer. These particular regulations were passed as a result of "Operation Anvil," and it is from a cleaning up process in Nairobi that the beginning of the end of Mau Mau will be traced.
§ Mr. BottomleyBearing in mind the fact that the Mau Mau gangs in the forest will soon be wiped out, will the right hon. Gentleman consider making an early statement to abolish the passbook system and release a substantial number from detention camps?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydI am afraid I could not give any such answer at all, and I would remind the right hon. Gentleman that one of the recommendations of those who visited Kenya was that a real attempt should be made to clean up Nairobi, and this has been an essential part of that procedure.
§ Mr. RankinDoes this system, which the Minister upholds, apply to loyal Africans as well as to disloyal Africans?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydIt is a method of distinguishing between the two.
§ Mr. BottomleyIn all seriousness, may I ask the Minister to reconsider the matter; otherwise, we shall have far more trouble in Kenya in the future?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydIf I were asked to give a single instance of the fear in the minds of the loyal Kikuyu, it would be the fear that those who have been contaminated should return among them again.