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Dr. Jallah A. Barbu claimed that Liberia is the only country in Africa that observes Flag Day as a national holiday.
- We fact-checked this claim by reviewing several historical documents of African countries
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We found that Eswatini in Southern Africa also celebrates its flag as a National Holiday
On August 25, Cllr. Dr. Jallah A. Barbu, orator of Liberia’s 178th National Flag Day, claimed that Liberia is the only African country to set aside a special holiday to commemorate the making and hoisting of its flag.
Cllr. Barbu, chairman of the War and Economic Crimes Court in Liberia, made this claim while highlighting the significance of the Liberian flag.
The Claim
Cllr. Barbu’s exact words: “Liberia is the only country in Africa that has set aside a special holiday to commemorate the making and hoisting of its flag.”
Rating Justification
To verify this claim, we conducted an online search and found EswatiniLII, a non-profit legal information platform providing free access to Eswatini’s laws.
Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), one of Africa’s smallest countries, also observes a National Flag Day on April 25 to commemorate the making and first official hoisting of its flag on April 25, 1967.
This holiday is legally recognized under the Eswatini Public Holidays Act, 1938 (Act 71 of 1938), which lists it as an official public holiday.
Eswatini is a small, landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered by South Africa to the west, north, and south, and Mozambique to the east. The kingdom was founded in the mid-18th century under King Ngwane III and gained full independence from Britain on September 6, 1968.
Additional legal context comes from the Swaziland Flags and Coat of Arms Act, 1968 (Act 36 of 1968), which prescribes the design and use of the national flag. We also found an official notices regarding the holiday published in the Eswatini Government Gazette, notifying that Monday, April 26, 2004, was observed as a public holiday in place of National Flag Day, which fell on Sunday, April 25, 2004. Further context on the holiday’s cultural significance is also found via AnyDayGuide.
Apart from Liberia and Eswatini, we found no evidence of any other African country observing the making and hoisting of its national flag as a standalone public holiday, like Liberia and Eswatini.
Conclusion
Based on our research, we conclude that the claim made by Dr. Barbu that Liberia is the only country in Africa that has set aside a special holiday to commemorate the making and hoisting of its flag is incorrect.
Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, in southern Africa, observes its National Flag Day on April 25 every year.
