Mau Mau Uprising attempt to eliminate Mau Mau's presence within Nairobi in one fell swoop. 25,000 members of British security forces under the control of General George Erskine were deployed as Nairobi was sealed off and underwent a sector-by-sector purge. All native Kenyans were taken to temporary barbed-wire enclosures, whereafter those who were not Kikuyu, Embu or Meru were released; those who were remained in detention for screening. Whilst the operation itself was conducted by Europeans, most suspected members of Mau Mau were picked out of groups of the Kikuyu-Embu-Meru detainees by a native Kenyan informer. Male suspects were then taken off for
Mau Mau Uprising conflict, postulates that the British preferred to use the term "Mau Mau" instead of "KLFA" in an attempt to deny the Mau Mau rebellion international legitimacy. Kariuki also wrote that the term "Mau Mau" was adopted by the rebellion in order to counter what they regarded as colonial propaganda. Another possible origin is a mishearing of the Kikuyu word for oath "muuma". The armed rebellion of the Mau Mau was the culminating response to colonial rule. Although there had been previous instances of violent resistance to colonialism, the Mau Mau revolt was the most prolonged and violent anti-colonial warfare in