Kenya

Information about the Kenyan Flag: Colors and Meaning of the Flag of Kenya

The formal long name of Kenya is Republic of Kenya, while its local formal name is Jamhuri ya Kenya. The country is headed by a president. Kenya came under British rule in 1888 and experienced several upheavals before gaining its independence on December 12, 1963. It was declared a republic exactly a year after.

:: History of the Kenyan Flag ::

Kenya’s national flag was officially used at the time when it formally gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1963. The flag uses the Pan-African colors red, green and black. It is based on the Kenya African National Union (KANU) flag. The KANU was instrumental in Kenya finally achieving its independence and the country, while still fighting for their liberty initially used a flag with equal horizontal colored stripes white black on top, red in the middle and green at the bottom.

Once Kenya gained full independence, the national flag was redesigned, with the same basic colors but the top and bottom of the red middle band became outlined with thin white strips. The traditional shield of the Maasai was included and placed in the middle of the flag. Two crossed spears in white were placed under the shield.

:: Meaning of the Kenyan Flag ::

Kenya’s national flag uses Pan-African colors black, green and red that were adopted by the U.S.-based UNIA or the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League. It has a ratio of 2:3. For the people of Kenya, the colors and symbols in their flag hold a deeper meaning. Black is meant to represent the indigenous people of the country. Like most citizens of the world who had to struggle to be free, red symbolizes the blood that had been shed to attain independence. The country of Kenya is blessed with abundant natural resources and fertile lands to sustain agricultural pursuits, which in the Kenyan flag are represented by the color green. White is the universal color for peace. To protect the hard-fought independence of the country and show the world of the readiness of the Kenyan people to defend their freedom, the spears and the warrior shield of the Maasai were added as symbolic representations.

:: References ::
http://www.fotw.net/flags/ke.html
http://www.mapsofworld.com/flags/kenya-flag.html
http://www.kenya-information-guide.com/kenya-flag.html