Flags from Malawi

In 1891 the British proclaimed the British Central Africa Protectorate over the whole area of present-day Malawi in 1891. Its flag was, as was common at the time, a British Blue Ensign with its emblem on the fly. A Coat of Arms was also introduced, featuring two African men carrying a pickaxe and a shovel and the motto “Light in Darkness”!

The British Central African Protectorate was renamed Nyasaland in 1907, and in 1914, the territory received a new Coat of Arms featuring a rising sum and a leopard. This was placed on a British Blue Ensign, on a white disk on the fly, the first flag of Nyasaland. Five years later, a larger version of the arms was placed directly on the Blue Ensign, and in 1925, the black on the top of the Arms was changed to green; the flag changed accordingly and remained Nyasaland’s flag until 1953.

In 1953, Britain combined Nyasaland with Northern and Southern Rhodesia (present-day Zambia and Zimbabwe); the flag of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (or Central African Federation) was again the British Blue Ensign with the Federation’s Coat of Arms on the fly. It combined elements of the constituent parts, Nyasaland and North and South Rhodesia.

Malawi became independent on 6 July 1964 and adopted its new flag, a horizontal black-red-green tricolour with a red rising sun on the black stripe. The rising sun officially represented the dawn of hope and freedom for the continent of Africa. Black stood for the Indigenous people of the continent, red symbolised the blood of their struggle, and green represented nature. A Coat of Arms, based on the earlier heraldic arms of Nyasaland, is above a scroll reading “UNITY AND FREEDOM”.

On 29 July 2010, Malawi adopted a new flag proposed by the then President, Bingu wa Mutharika, of the Democratic Progressive Party. It became a horizontal red-black-green tricolour with a white sun with 45 rays in the centre. The public widely disliked it, calling it “Bingu’s flag”. On 28 May 2012, under the new president, Joyce Banda, the Parliament voted to revert to the original flag adopted upon Malawi’s independence.