Flag of Kenya

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Republic of Kenya
Flag of Kenya.svg
Use National flag, civil and state ensign FIAV 111110.svg FIAV normal.svg IFIS Vertical normal.svg
Proportion2:3
Adopted12 December 1963;60 years ago (1963-12-12)
DesignA horizontal tricolour of black, white-edged red, and green with two crossed white spears behind a red, white, and black Maasai shield
Kenyan flag at Lodwar Airport Turkana County, Lodwar Airport. Flight Fly540 before taking off.jpg
Kenyan flag at Lodwar Airport
Kenyan flags at the Kenyatta Mausoleum Kenyatta Mausoleum (1295043494).jpg
Kenyan flags at the Kenyatta Mausoleum

The flag of Kenya (Swahili : Bendera ya Kenya) is a tricolour of black, red, and green with two white edges imposed with a red, white and black Maasai shield and two crossed spears. The flag is based on that of Kenya African National Union and was officially adopted on 12 December 1963 after Kenya's independence. [1]

Contents

Grammar

The Kenyan flag is red over black over the green flag of Kenya African National Union (KANU), the political party that led the fight for the independence of Kenya. Upon independence, the white fimbriation, symbolised peace and unity, and the shield were added. The meaning of the colours of the flag of Kenya matches closely to those of the Pan-African flag adopted by the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League in 1920. [2]

The 2010 revised edition of the Constitution of Kenya includes specifications of the Kenyan flag, located in the Second Schedule, Article 9, paragraph 6.2. [3]

Symbolism

The Kenyan flag includes symbols of unity, peace, and defence of the country. The color black represents the country's African heritage, red for the bloodshed during the fight for independence from the British colonialism, and green for the country's landscape and natural wealth. The white fimbriation was added later to symbolise peace, honesty, purity, and innocence. The black, red, and white traditional African shield and two spears symbolise the defence of all the things mentioned above. Many of both colours and symbolic values are shared with the flag of South Sudan.

Design

The colours of the flag are specified in the Constitution in terms of British Standard 2660. [4]

BlackRedGreen
Consitutional specification: British Standard Colours BS 2660Post office red
0-006
Paris/Viridian Green
0-010

Variants

Historical presidential standards

Defense forces

Variants

Historical flags

See also

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References

  1. "Flag of Kenya". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  2. "The History of the Red, Black, and Yellow". Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League. Archived from the original on 13 September 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  3. "Laws of Kenya". Archived from the original on 25 December 2019.
  4. Second Schedule of Kenyan Consitution

Sources