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Caprivi (Namibia)

image by Mark Sensen, 10 Oct 1995

This was the flag of East-Caprivi adopted in 1977.
Mark Sensen, 10 Oct 1995

Design of Caprivi's flag
History of Caprivi's flags
Pre-1977 flag of Caprivi
Caprivi African National Union

See also:

Design of Caprivi's flag

The design of the flag of Caprivi is set out in section 2 of the Caprivi Flag Act, 1977 which reads as follows:
"The Caprivi Flag shall be a flag consisting of four horizontal stripes of equal width from top to bottom of black, white green and blue, on which there shall appear, in the centre of the flag on the white and green stripes, two black elephants of equal size facing each other with their trunk raised, the front halves entwined once around each other with only the tips thereof raised above the height of their heads.
The height of the elephants shall be two-thirds of the width of the two stripes.
The width of the Caprivi Flag shall be equal to two thirds of its length"
The two elephants represent the two principal tribes of the Caprivi area, the Mafwe and the Basubia. The black and white stripes on the flag are said to represent the people of the area, the green for agriculture and the blue for the waters surrounding this area, namely the Zambezi, Chobe, Linyandi and Kwando rivers as well as Lake Liambezi.
An original design for a flag of Caprivi consisted of blue, white and blue horizontal stripes, charged in the centre with two crossed black whisks. This design was not adopted, presumably because of the similarity with the flag of the Gazankulu in South Africa.
Caprivi was re-incorporated into Namibia at independence on 21 March 1990 and this flag is no longer in use.
Bruce Berry, 25 November 1998

History of Caprivi

In 1893 the Germans, who ruled what is now Namibia, decided it would be nice to have access to the Zambezi River, some 250 km to the east. The British ceded a strip of land which was extruded from the North East corner of Namibia to Kazungula on the Zambezi at on what is now the Zambia/Botswana border. Unfortunately when the Germans got round to actually visiting the site they found that the Zambezi isn't navigable at that point! The strip became of geopolitical importance during the 1980s when it was used as a jumping off point and re-supply route for South African support for the UNITA movement in Angola.
Stuart Notholt, 8 Oct 1995

Pre-1977 flag of Caprivi

image by Jaume Ollé, 28 November 1998.

Prior to 1977 another flag design was used in Caprivi, being horizontal blue-white-blue (1:2:1) stripes with a symbol of two crossed black spoons being found in the centre of the white stripe. This was very similar to the flag of the South African homeland Gazankulu, but with the latter having equal bands and a chain between the spoons on the white stripe. The western part of the Caprivi strip was part of the Okavango homeland which used a green flag with a small triband of orange-white-blue in the centre.
Mark Sensen, 10 Oct 1995

I post an image of the version shown in the Flag Bulletin XVI:5. In other Bulletins it is shown with stripes 1:2:1
Jaume Ollé, 28 November 1998.

Caprivi African National Union

image by Pascal Gross, 8 Apr 2003

How come there has never been any mention of the new Caprivi Flag on the pages of the Flags of the World web site?
The Caprivi African National Union (CANU) of the Free State of Caprivi Strip/Itenge has a sample of their flag on their web site.
Edgar Melvin, 7 Apr 2003

There's an FOTW-like flag at this webpage.
Explanation:
"The National Flag of the Free State of Caprivi Strip/Itenge The Official Symbolism of the National Flag of Caprivi Strip/Itenge:
On October 7, 2002, the Itengese nation severed all ties with Namibia and declared the independent, sovereign Free State of Caprivi Strip/Itenge - their national homeland. The Itengese Government-in-Exile of the Caprivi African National Union (CANU) adopted a new flag to represent national unity, heroism, freedom, justice, sovereignty and confidence in the future. An important consideration in the design of the flag was the present illegal Namibian Occupation of the territory of Caprivi Strip, Itenge, so there is no black with its symbolism of gloom and mourning.
The CANU flag, which is also the national flag of the Free State of Caprivi Strip/Itenge, is rectangular in shape, divided into three major horizontal stripes - Blue, White, and Green - separated by narrow Red stripes. There appears in the centre of the flag, on the white and red stripes, two grey elephants of equal size facing each other with their trunk raised, the front halves entwined once around each other with only the tips thereof raised above the height of their heads.
The width of the National Flag of the Free State of Caprivi Strip/Itenge shall be two-thirds of its length.
The national flag is a blue-white-green tricolour with red fimbriations.
The uppermost is blue, the middle one is white and the nethermost is green, separated by narrow red stripes.
The two elephants represent the national unity and togetherness of the Itengese people.
The colours of CANU and the national flag are representative of Caprivian/Itengese history, as well as occurring in nature. The significance of the individual colours has been explained in various histories: Blue is referred to as the colour of faith, loyalty and devotion; it also reflects the qualities of the sky, rivers, and lakes.
White represents the striving towards enlightenment and virtue; it also represents unity and peace. Green represents Caprivi Strip, Itenge's agriculture and natural resources. The Red fimbriation represents the struggle for freedom."
Jarig Bakker, 8 Apr 2003