The Uganda Flag is highly respected by Ugandans. This flag is as old as Uganda. It was adopted in 1962 when Uganda attained its independence on 9th October 1962. You can’t imagine the happiness that Ugandans got when the Uganda Flag was raised up while the British Union Jack was being lowered down.
The Uganda Flag was designed by the late Grace Ibingira who was later appointed as the Minister of Justice in Uganda government. There are some historical who say that the first replica of the Uganda Flag that was designed was not in these colors. The flag that was designed by the self internal government of the Democratic Party under the Benedict Kiwanuka had vertical stripes of green-blue-green, separated by narrower yellow stripes, and in the centre had the silhouette of a yellow crane.
When the Democratic Party lost the national elections on 25 April 1962 to the UPC-KY Alliance, the newly elected government rejected the former design and instead proposed the current design. It was based on the flag of UPC– a tricolour having horizontal stripes of red, yellow and black. The British administration approved this design that was made by the late Grace Ibingira before the country’s independence.
The Uganda Flag was adopted on 9th October 1962, the date when Uganda got her independence from the British.
The Uganda Flag consists of six equal horizontal stripes of black at the top, Yellow and Red. Within the middle is the grey crested crane, the national bird for Uganda. Each color has a meaning;
- The black color symbolizes the African people and the fertile soils of Uganda,
- The Yellow stands for climate of Uganda – the sunny days of Uganda
- Red represents blood – brotherhood for all people.
The grey crowned crane stands with one leg on the ground and one leg raised. This symbolizes development, stability and progress of the country.
