Today in History: Uganda Raises Its National Flag for the First Time

What the report says

Nile Post reports in a “Today in History” feature that Uganda marked its independence on October 9, 1962, with a ceremony at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala. At midnight, the British Union Jack was lowered and Uganda’s black, yellow and red national flag was raised for the first time by Major Akorimo Kanuti. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, represented Queen Elizabeth II at the formal handover to the new government led by Apollo Milton Obote.

The article says the event ended nearly seven decades of British colonial rule and followed years of political negotiation over the structure of the new state. It notes that talks at Lancaster House in 1961 and Marlborough House in 1962 helped shape the constitutional settlement. That arrangement balanced national unity with regional autonomy, including special federal status for Buganda and semi-federal status for Bunyoro, Toro and Ankole.

Nile Post also provides context on the political alliances of the period. It says the Uganda People’s Congress and Kabaka Yekka formed a decisive coalition that helped Obote’s side prevail in the April 1962 elections, leaving Benedicto Kiwanuka’s Democratic Party in opposition at independence. The publication adds that Uganda later became a republic on October 9, 1963, when Mutesa II became the country’s first president.

The piece frames independence as both a founding national milestone and a recurring date of reflection, noting later jubilee celebrations in 1987, 2012 and 2022.