Additional Links: The Significance of Ugandan Colors
: 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: "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.
Jarig Bakker, 5 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, 9 Oct 2002
Central emblem
Coat of Arms
By Dov
Gutterman, 6 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.
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
Ugandan flag (Mar 1962 - 9 Oct.; 1962 (Provisional) The flag was
adopted by the ruling party as national, and was hoisted
unofficially. But the Congress Party won the elections, and a new design
(based on their colors) was adopted and is the current national flag.
Jaume Ollé
U.P.C
