The flag was made official in 1962, at the time of independence. Horizontally striped with red, black, and yellow, in the center is the national bird, the grey crowned crane. It was selected since the bird had been cherished from long before by people living in the region, and since no tribe had used it as a symbol of kingdoms and therefore was a neutral icon. Also, the base black color represents the citizens, yellow, the sun, and red, fraternity.