Flag_of_Kenya Knowpia

Republic of Kenya
Use	National flag, civil and state ensign
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	12 December 1963; 60 years ago
Design	A horizontal tricolour of black, white-edged red, and green with two crossed white spears behind a red, white, and black Maasai shield

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]

Grammar edit

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 edit

The Kenyan flag includes symbols of unity, peace, and defence of the country. The color black represents the people of the Republic of Kenya, red for the bloodshed during the fight for independence, 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 edit

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

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

Variants edit

Historical presidential standards edit

First Presidential Standard of Kenya (1963–1970)
Presidential Standard of Jomo Kenyatta
Presidential Standard of Daniel Arap Moi
Presidential Standard of Mwai Kibaki
Presidential Standard of Uhuru Kenyatta
Presidential Standard of William Ruto, Incumbent President of Kenya

Defense forces edit

Flag of Kenya Defence Forces
Flag of Kenya Navy
Presidential Standard of the Navy
Flag of Kenya Air Force

Variants edit

Flag of Kenya with the coat of arms.

Historical flags edit

Imperial British East Africa Company (1888-1895)
East Africa Protectorate (1895-1921)
Colony and Protectorate of Kenya (1921-1963)
Flag of the Dominion of Kenya (1963-1964); flag of the Republic of Kenya (1964-present)

References edit

^ "Flag of Kenya". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
^ "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.
^ "Laws of Kenya". Archived from the original on 25 December 2019.
^ Second Schedule of Kenyan Consitution