Introduced in 1950 the Population Registration Act by the apartheid regime imposed restrictions on movement of Africans within South Africa. This act, which also consisted of laws pertaining to carrying a dom pass, was extremely oprreseive to black people.Amended in 1962 as well as in 1969, the Population registration act of 1950 was very unpopular.

1950 Population Registration Act specifically regulated the movement of black Africans outside designated "homelands", thus meaning that black South Africans had to carry passbooks at all times. Popularly referred to as a Dom pass, simply because people of African descent felt that it was merely a stupid (Dom) book (Pass) that really undermined their intelligence.  This  documentation was used to provide information that proved that a person had been authorized to live, move or even work in a certian area that were specified for  white South Africans. This act was also amended in 1962 as well as in 1969.

The population registration act was supported by a series of other acts that insured that the African Majority were oppressed. These acts included acts like the Urban Areas Consolidation Act of 1945 together with the Natives Act of 1952, which mainly outlined requirements for African peoples' "qualification" to reside legally in white metropolitan areas. To do so, they had to have Section 10 rights, based on whether -

• the person had been born there and resided there always since birth;
• the person had laboured continuously for ten years in any agreed area for any employer, or lived continuously in any such area for less than ten years;

•  the person was the spouse, spinster or son under eighteen years of age of an African person, falling into the above two categories, usually lived with him and had originally entered the area legitimately; or
•  The person had been granted a permit to remain by a labour bureau.

Of course as this was a law targeted at black people. These laws literally controlled all if not most aspects of how African people went about their lives.

Vusi Mavimbela takes us through his experiences of how these laws made his life difficult. One of his stories recounts him being in Johannesburg’s city centre following a day from which he came back from work late at night. His Pass book had stipulated in it that he had to have been vacant from Johannesburg after 5pm. Since it was very late he had to use an alternative mode of transport because his usuall mode of transport (bus) had left him behind, in efforts to get home he opted to use the train and whilst working to the train station he was stopped by the police. Upon being stopped, the police then found that he was not permitted to be in town at that hour and this later led to his arrest where he was detained for about 10 days.This is one of many unfair experiences that our people went through.