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Lebowa (South African homeland)

by Mark Sensen

Lebowa - introduction
Flag description

See also:

South Africa
South Africa : national index
South Africa (1928-1994)
Former Province :

Transvaal

New Provinces :

Mpumalanga
Limpopo Province (formerly Northern Province)

Lebowa - introduction

Within the "old" South Africa, 10 homelands were created, four of which were granted "independence" by South Africa (not recognised by any other country in the world). These former South African Homelands/bantustans ceased to exist on 27 April 1994. They have all (including the former so called independent Homelands) been reincorporated into South Africa.
The flags of the former Homelands are no longer in use (either officially or unofficially).
Bruce Berry, 25 April 1996

Lebowa was located in the central part of the northern Transvaal, with two main compactly shaped parts (in today's Limpopo Province), and one small uncompact enclave (in today's Mpumalanga) and small border tracts with Gazankulu.
Antonio Martins, 30 May 1999

Lebowa previously comprised 11 pieces of territory. There is currently a dispute over one area which was part of Lebowa (Bushbuck Ridge) and is now part of the Northern Province. Residents want to be incorporated into Mpumalanga despite a Constitutional Court ruling against them.
Bruce Berry, 31 May 1999

The name "Lebowa" means north, and thus by implication the home of the northern Sotho people - in contrast to Lesotho and QwaQwa which is the home of the southern Sotho. Lebowa was granted internal self-government on 2 October 1972.
Bruce Berry, 1 December 1998

Lebowa flag description

The design of the Lebowa flag is set out in section 2 of the Lebowa Flag Act of 1974, which reads as follows:
"The Lebowa flag shall be a flag consisting of three horizontal stripes blue, white and green, in the proportions one, two and one, the white stripe charged with a semi-sun with nine rays in gold.
The width of the Lebowa flag shall be equal to two-thirds of its length".
The blue in the Lebowa flag is light blue and alludes to the infinite sky and the need for development and progress. The green represents the land and the sunburst symbolises the dawning of a new day for the Sotho nation.
This flag is a simplification of an earlier proposal in which the full coat of arms would have appeared in colour on a broad white stripe below an orange sunburst that overlapped a blue horizontal stripe running along the top of the flag. A green stripe of the same width would have filled the bottom of the proposed flag. This proposed design is illustrated on the cover of The Flag Bulletin, XIII, 6, November/December 1974.
The flag was formally taken into use on 5 July 1974.
The flag was last used on 26 April 1994 afterwhich Lebowa was re-incorporated into South Africa on 27 April 1994 and now forms part of the Limpopo Province.
Bruce Berry, 1 December 1998