Operation Anvil (Mau Mau Uprising) the reserves. The "Grey" grade was made up of prisoners believed to be passive Mau Mau sympatherisers though for whom strong evidence suggesting their true loyalties was lacking. The last category, "Black", was reserved for detainees identified by the hooded informers or the Special Branch of the Kenya Police as potentially violent insurgents or terrorists. A few may have been prosecuted by the government, but most were funneled through the "Pipeline", a system of work camps, decreasing in brutality until an individual was "re-educated" and deemed safe to release on a native reserve. Operation Anvil (Mau Mau Uprising) Operation Anvil
Operation Anvil (Mau Mau Uprising) in the process. Erskine intended on relocating all Kikuyu, Embu, and Meru people from Nairobi, but the colonial government rejected the plan, citing potential harm to the local economy and administration. The operation was based on one British security forces had conducted in Tel Aviv, Palestine. Its legality was assured by the Emergency Regulations and the Control of Nairobi Regulations of 1954, the latter of which permitted the colonial governor to issue "Evacuation Orders" to remove and detain individuals from the city so they could be screened for connections with the Mau Mau. Four battalions were earmarked for the action.