Rebecca Joshua Okwachi, the SPLM chief whip in the national parliament, on Monday, denounced what she called the misuse of South Sudan’s national flag by using officials and sections of the public.
She said that she has observed that the flag is not only being misused but also that the wrong shades of colors are being used in representations of the flag.
“I have observed and I have seen the way we are using and reflecting our national flag and it is disturbing. Our national flag has colors which are representing very important aspects in the life of this country,” Okwachi said. “Apart from the other colors on the flag, I am very much concerned about the blue color. The blue color is there representing our waters which are very dear to us now but in the flag we are seeing these days in our offices, streets on T-shirts, etc there is a different color (shade) of blue which is dark blue, too dark. I believe this is a violation of the image and dignity of the flag.”
Okwachi also said she observed that on different occasions people wear the flag as clothing, use it as table cloths, and called on the South Sudanese to respect it.
“The way we use our flag must be known to the citizens, when do we use our flag and when we do not use the flag as a symbol of respect to our flag,” she added. “Every time we have celebrations, we find different colors of our flag and therefore I want to raise it as an important aspect for us to look into. We have to use our flag the right way in respect to the dignity of our flag and our country.”
For his part, the First Deputy Speaker Nathaniel Oyet said there is a need for the executive to guide the general public on how to use the national flag.
“I think there is a need for guidance from the concerned authorities, especially from the executive, that whoever wants to produce the flag for whatever occasion must be guided so that the rightful color is produced. Also, the use of the flag must be limited for those purposes which are aimed at building the nation and not for any other purpose,” he said. “It is true that when you move on the streets you see that the flag is being used for any purpose other than official purposes. People make it as their dress and I thought this is not in order.”
“If you like the (flag) colors, you can have them but should not be exactly the flag because the flag is a national symbol and should not be used for any other purpose,” Oyet added.
Ed: Interestingly the SPLM party logo has the national flag as its background.