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Uganda

Jamhuri ya Uganda

Last modified: 2007-03-17 by bruce berry
Keywords: uganda | crane |
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[Uganda] image by Samuel Lockton, 09 Oct 2002
Flag adopted 09 Oct 1962 See also:

Significance of the Colours

Black, yellow, red were the colours of the Uganda People's Congress party, who came to power in elections in April 1962. The flag was adopted on the date of independence, 9 Oct 1962. To quote Whitney Smith ("Spectrum Vlaggenboek", 1975): "The three colours were intended to symbolise the people of Africa, sunshine and brotherhood. The design was made by the Minister of Justice, Mr Grace Ibingira." The crested crane was the flag badge of Uganda under British colonial rule.
Dylan Crawfoot, 22 Oct 1999

I spoke to Grace Ibingira (God rest his soul) and he told me he designed the Ugandan flag (he was first and foremost an artist). It was the second of two designs.
Tomas Zamudio, 25 Feb 2003

Do you mean that the current central roundel of the Uganda flag was in the fly of a blue (or red?) ensign as the local colony flag?
António Martins, 24 Oct 1999

I'm not sure if it was the exact same design, but there's no reason why it wouldn't have been. Smith says the crested crane "first appeared in the colonial badge of Uganda under British rule", and Crampton simply says (in talking about the origins of the coat of arms) that the crane was the former flag-badge.
Dylan Crawfoot, 25 Oct 1999

During Uganda's turbulent recent history, the national flag has remained unaltered.
Stuart Notholt, 15 Sep 1996

Uganda in Album2000: National Flag. CSW/CSW 2:3
Six striped flag of black-yellow-red-black-yellow-red with a crested crane in full colours in a white disk in the middle.
BTW, is the disk diameter equal to two stripes width? Or is it just a bit smaller then it?
BTW2, what's used as the naval jack?
Željko Heimer, 29 Aug 2002

[zna99], [smi75], [cra90] and several other books, as well as the Shipmate flagchart 2000 have it slightly smaller, so the disk does not touch the yellow stripes. The DK book has the disk even smaller, but that may be for educational purposes. In other words: the image of the Ugandan national flag does need a small correction.
Jarig Bakker, 05 Sep 2002

On Graham Bartram's website is the Ugandan national flag with the usual proportions, but the disk is not touching the yellow stripes. Moreover there is a big cut-out of the emblem.
Jarig Bakker, 09 Oct 2002

Central emblem

[Central emblem] image from Graham Bartram's website (Click on image for a better view)
 

Coat of Arms

[Uganda Coat of Arms] image from this site, located by Dov Gutterman, 06 Feb 2000

The supporters on either side of the coat of arms are the Ugandan Kob representing the wildlife of Uganda and the Crested Crane, the emblem for Uganda.
The drum represents Uganda's culture. It was once the belief that drums could scare away evil spirits. A drum chain can be used to transmit messages over a distance of 100 miles in less than one hour.
The spears and shield are representative of Uganda's traditional form of weapons and symbolise the nation's defence and security.
The motto reads: "For God and My Country".
Info from this site.
Dov Gutterman, 06 Feb 2000

Stolen national symbols of Uganda

President Idi Amin Dada not only caused the fall of his country and the death of 300,000 people, he also stole the originals of the flag, emblem and coat of arms of Uganda and brought them to Saudi Arabia.
The government of Uganda officially asked the government of Saudi Arabia assistance in the return of the national symbols of Uganda. When Amin was expelled from Uganda by the Tanzanian army and Ugandese soldiers in rebellion, he fled to Saudi Arabia. He took with him the originals of the national flag, emblem and coat of arms, which had been granted to the new country by the British colonial Governor in October 1962 for the independence. It is possible that Amin's children sold the symbols after their father's death in 2003.
Source: the Chinese agency Xinhua (16 January 2005) (in French).
Ivan Sache, 20 Jan 2005
 

Provisional first flag

[Provisional first flag] image by Jaume Ollé, from his site.

Ugandan flag (Mar 1962 - 09 Oct  1962 (Provisional) The flag was adopted by the ruling party to be the national flag and was hoisted unofficially. However, the Congress Party won the elections, and a new design based on their colours was adopted and became the current national flag.
Jaume Ollé