Kenya Flags – Kenyan Flag, Bunting & Hand Flags

The Kenyan flag: black, red, green and the Maasai shield

Kenya’s flag is three horizontal bands of black, red and green, the red edged top and bottom with thin white stripes, with a traditional Maasai shield and two crossed white spears in the centre. It was adopted on 12 December 1963, the day the country became independent from Britain, and it grew directly out of the flag of the Kenya African National Union, with the white fimbriations added to represent peace and the shield and spears to represent the defence of freedom. Black stands for the people of Kenya, red for the blood shed in the fight for independence and green for the land and its natural wealth. The shield is painted in the same red, black and white as a Maasai warrior’s, and it is the detail that marks a good print from a poor one: on our Kenya flag the shield pattern and the spear heads are sharp at every size, from the 20x12in hand size up to 8ft x 5ft.

Jamhuri Day, Madaraka Day and the marathon

Kenya keeps three national days: Madaraka Day on 1 June, which marks internal self-rule in 1963, Mashujaa Day on 20 October for the country’s heroes, and Jamhuri Day on 12 December, the anniversary of independence and of the republic a year later. Kenyan associations in London, Reading, Leicester, Manchester and Birmingham mark all three, as does the High Commission. The flag is just as visible at sport: the Harambee Stars in AFCON qualifiers, Shujaa at the London leg of the rugby sevens, Kenyan volleyball and, above all, distance running. Kenyan athletes have dominated the London Marathon and the Great North Run for years, and a Kenya hand flag at the barrier is part of the picture every April and September.

Which size Kenya flag to buy

For a garden pole, a restaurant front or an association event, 5ft x 3ft is the usual choice; 3ft x 2ft suits a smaller pole or an indoor wall; 8ft x 5ft is for a community-centre flagpole or a stage; and 20x12in goes on a hand pole or a car window. Flagtex is the printed woven polyester for parties and parades, DuraFlag the knitted heavyweight with double-stitched hems for a pole that is used all year. Both come with a sewn header and two brass eyelets, and the DuraFlag can be ordered with clips or a rope and toggle instead.

Kenya bunting

Kenya bunting strings the full flag, shield included, on rectangular pennants in 3m and 9m lengths, sewn to a tape that will take a wet Jamhuri Day in December without shedding colour. A 9m run covers a church hall or a restaurant frontage; add a second length to turn a corner. The main bunting range has plain black, red and green if you want to pad out the national colours.

Hand flags and table flags

Kenya hand flags on wooden sticks are stocked in 9x6in and 18x12in for marathon crowds, airport welcomes and school assemblies. The Kenya table flag is a 6x4in flag on a base for a desk, a classroom display or a dinner table, and the large wooden table flag at 18x12in works as a counter or reception flag. Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia and the rest of East Africa are listed under world flags.

Kenyan flag FAQs

Popular in this collection

• Kenya Flag (20x12in to 8x5ft, 2 grades)from £6.99
• Kenya Bunting (3m, 9m)from £9.98
• Kenya Hand Flagsfrom £5.99
• Kenya Table Flag with Basefrom £1.98
• Kenya Large Wooden Table Flagfrom £3.98