Kiambu County (Kenya)

Kiambu County is in the former Central Province of Kenya. Its capital is Kiambu and its largest town is Thika. The county is adjacent to the northern border of Nairobi County
Jaume Ollé, 22 Jan 2015

Description of the flag

A new flag and Coat of Arms for Kiambu County was adopted on 12 March 2019. This replaced the previous flag (see below) which was unofficial as mentioned is this article.
Jens Pattke, 04 June 2019

The new symbols are prescribed by "The Kiambu County flag, Symbols and Names Protection Bill", dated 04 March 2019 which was published on 12 March 2019 in the Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 2 (Kiambu County Bills No. 2), pp. 1-17. The Bill was assented into law on 05 April 2019 by Kiambu Governor, Ferdinand Waititu Babayao.

Article 4.1.
The flag of which the design and description are set out in Part I of the Second Schedule to this Act is hereby declared to be the county flag.

Article 4.2.
The coat of arms of which the design and description are set out in Part II of the Second Schedule to this Act is hereby declared to be the county coat of arms.

Article 4.3.
The seal of which the design and description are set out in Part III of the Second Schedule to this Act is hereby declared to be the county seal.

Second Schedule.
Part I. The Kiambu County flag
The flag is rectangular, consisting of six elements:
1. Reddish brown resembles the red soil a sign of wealth, property and rich culture. It projects the pioneering spirit, confidence, determination, strong-will and love.
2. Blue is the colour of trust and responsibility. Blue is the least "gender specific" colour, having equal appeal to both men and women. Blue signifies endlessness - the sky appears to be never ending and so are our resources and abilities. It represents honesty, loyalty, inner security, confidence, calmness, relaxation, order and tranquility.
3. White is the colour of purity, cleanliness, and neutrality - Peace. White signifies a fresh start / Beginning. A new era and time to dream and creates new things.
4. Bull-tall whisk is the symbol of power and authority. It projects good leadership and presence and at the same time keeping our rich culture with us. It projects good leadership and presence and at the same time keeping our rich culture with us.
5. The 12 beads represents 12 Sub-Counties of Kiambu. The 12 beads are in a circular form signifying the notions of totality, wholeness, original perfection, the infinite, eternity and timelessness. The beads and both coffee beans signifying agriculture and productivity and traditional ornaments (cowry shells) representing beauty and rich cultural background.
6. Green is the colour of growth and balance. It represents the birth, self-reliance, positivity, renewal and strength. It also represents the rich agricultural potential of the county.

Part II. The Kiambu County coat of arms
The name of the county is well displayed at the head, which gives the required majesty. The shield contains a crown / plant which signifies the richness and agricultural productivity of the people of Kiambu County whereas the motto shows what binds the hardworking county. The coat of arms colors are similar to these used under the county flag and bear the same meaning as explained thereof.
[§ 1-6 are verbatim copies from Part I]
7. Motto / slogan being "Urutagwo Mwiruti" means work is accomplished by self-help or learning is best acquired when one teaches himself. The motto signifies hard work, diligence, self-worth, self-drive and accountability.

image by Jens Pattke, 04 June 2019

Part III. The Kiambu County public seal
The Kiambu County seal is a simplified line art representation of the county coat of arms to be applied as an embossing on official county documents.
[§ 1-5 are verbatim copies from Part II. § 6 is a verbatim copy of § 7 from Part II]

"Urutagwo Mwiruti" is a well-known Kikuyu proverb, widely used by Jomo Kenyatta (1894-1978), Kenya's father of independence and first President of the Republic from 1964 until his death.

A competition for the design of the symbols was organized in 2013. The submitted designs should:
- Capture the main physical and social – economic and cultural activities
- Bear the name: County Government of Kiambu
- Be original in nature and must not infringe on any copy
- Be done using the common design program with a scale / size 28*20 and graphic resolution of 1280*768".

The competition must have been unsuccessful since another competition was organized in August 2018, which, most probably, yielded the adopted designs.

The competition stirred some controversy as just a few days afterwards residents of Kiambu decried an escalating health sector crisis following incidences where male and female patients were forced to share beds, the county government has surprisingly splashed KSh 200,000 on aesthetic activities as reported here.
Ivan Sache, 06 June 2019

The Daily Nation newspaper (28 Nov 2014) reported that the disclosure that Kiambu does not have an official flag and other symbols of power caused an uproar in the county assembly, with the members questioning the origin of the one that is currently in use.

Members said they had never approved any Motion on what constitutes the county’s flag and other symbols of power. In response, the County Secretary said that the executive was “in the process of preparing the requisite legislative proposals together with suggested county symbols, which will be forwarded to the assembly for approval”.

A flag that was being used bears in the centre a gold disk bordered grey in the centre of a red diagonal stripe. On the grey there are the words “Governor” (above) and “Kiambu County" (below). In the gold part they are the arms (I believe that first were the national arms and at end of 2014 substituted by the new county arms). On the white fimbriation stripes are several gold five pointed star, perhaps one for each subdivision (seems to be 6 above and 6 below?). On the top left and bottom right are black and blue stripes respectively.

The status of this flag has not been confirmed.
Jaume Ollé, 22 Jan 2015

On the county Facebook page a flag based on the same model can be seen but with only two stars under the black corner and six stars next to the blue one, and with a simple white disk in the center of the flag.

I would suggest that the flag with the word Governor on it would be the Governors flag.
Olivier Touzeau, 22 Jan 2015

Background

Description of the flag