Every time we see the South African flag flying, particularly during Heritage Month, we’re reminded of the country we became in 1994 — a country emerging from apartheid and attempting to build a new national identity. But how much do we actually know about the history behind the flag
itself? The official historical account credits the late State Herald Frederick Gordon Brownell with designing the flag that was unveiled in 1994. But an independent researcher, Bandile Magibili, has spent years investigating the process that led to the flag’s adoption, and he says there are still questions that deserve closer examination. Among them: what happened to the designs submitted by members of the public during the transition to democracy, how were those submissions assessed, and how exactly did the final design emerge? At the centre of his research is Eastern Cape artist Thembani Hastings Mqhayi, who maintains that he submitted five designs during that public process. Magibili is now taking the research into international academic spaces, including Mauritius, arguing that the documentary evidence should be subjected to independent scholarly scrutiny. So today, we're asking a fascinating question about one of the most recognisable symbols of our democracy:
what does the evidence actually tell us about the origins and authorship of South Africa's national flag?