What is the significance of the kenyan flag

Vast savannahs peppered with immense herds of wildlife. Snow-capped equatorial mountains. Traditional peoples who bring soul and colour to the earth. Adopted: Design: A traditional African shield and two spears in the centre, in the colours of red, black, and white.

A background of three horizontal bands of black, red, and green, separated by white borders. Usage: National and civil Ratio: The colours also represent the fight for independence red , African heritage black , and the land green. Although these foreign powers played a significant role in shaping the culture and history of the people, it was the Kenyan population that inevitably chose the design of the flag. In , Kenya was under the governance of the British Protectorate. The flag had a blue background with a British ensign at the upper left corner and a red lion next to the ensign.

This flag was used from In , a section of the country was annexed by the Germans. The newly acquired territory was known as the Witu protectorate. The flag of the colony was a red background with the British ensign at the center.

Jomo Kenyatta took charge of KAU in Five years later, some historians report that Kenyatta had made a speech to the Mau Mau. The Mau Mau were the militant liberation movement in the country that fought for independence then. This is the blood of the African represented by the color black. This is why the red stripe on the flag separates the colors black and green. The Africans had to shed blood so that he could obtain the fertile lands that were under British control.

The party adopted this flag on 23rd September In , the party changed the flag to a tricolored flag made up of the color black, red, and green. The colors were horizontally placed, and at the center was a white central emblem. The green represented the fertile land of the country, the red represented the blood of the independence fighters, whereas the black represented the people. The weapons located at the center of the flag are a reminder of the struggle for independence.

The flag was raised for the first time at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi at Midnight. This was after 68 years of British occupation. However, the original lyrics were written in Kiswahili by Graham Hyslop, G. The commission of five also collectively composed the anthem from the lyrics. The anthem is based on a Pokomo tune sung by children and their mothers. The official currency in Kenya is the shilling which is subdivided into cents. The use of Kenyan shilling commenced in when it replaced the East African shilling.

In , the first denominations of coins in denominations of 5, 10, 25, and 50 cents, and 1 and 2 shillings were issued for circulation. However, the production of 25 cent coins stopped in The 5 shilling coins entered circulation in The image of the first president Jomo Kenyatta was initially inscribed on all coins in Kenya between and However, in after the death of President Jomo Kenyatta, the then president Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi's image was replaced until To mark the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of independence, a 40 shilling coin bearing the image of former president, Mwai Kibaki, was circulated in After the Kenyan shilling took over from the East African shilling at par, the demonetization was not until The denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, and was produced by Central Bank of Kenya.

In , the replacement of 5 shilling banknotes took place followed by the 10 and 20 shillings in and respectively. The introduction of notes in the denominations of and shillings occurred in and respectively followed by the current highest denomination and shillings in Later, the denominations of 50, , , , and shillings entered the market carrying President Jomo Kenyatta portrait.

The color green represents the landscape and natural wealth of Kenya. The color black symbolizes the Kenyan people. Red represents bloodshed as the country fought for its independence, and white stands for peace and unity. The flag of Kenya was originally designed based on the flag of the Kenya African National Union, which led the fight for the independence of the nation. Once the nation gained its independence, the white representing peace and unity and the shield symbol were added.