End of the road for the Union Jack in Africa

Date: 17 Apr 1980
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

End of the road for the Union Jack in Africa

In a historic move, the Union Jack was lowered for the last time in Africa on this day when the embattled ex-British colony of Rhodesia was declared independent and renamed Zimbabwe. The lowering of the Union Jack and the raising of the new Zimbabwean flag was a symbolic event for the masses. Prince Charles, representing the Queen, presented the instruments of sovereignty. Robert Mugabe, the new Prime Minister, spoke of the need for reconciliation between Blacks and Whites and agreed to be part of the Commonwealth countries in the process.

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01Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). End of the road for the Union Jack in Africa. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012416

South African History Online (2011) 'End of the road for the Union Jack in Africa', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012416 (Accessed: 22 August 2026).

South African History Online, End of the road for the Union Jack in Africa [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012416, (accessed 22 August 2026).

"End of the road for the Union Jack in Africa." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012416. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "End of the road for the Union Jack in Africa." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012416.