The national flag of Rwanda is a horizontal tricolour of light blue, yellow, and green, in a 2:1:1 ratio, charged with a golden sun in the upper fly-side corner.

Rwanda adopted a vertical tricolour of red, yellow, and green following the coup of Gitarama on 28 January 1961, which saw the abolition of the Tutsi-dominated monarchy and the establishment of a Hutu-dominated republic.

Rwandan artist and engineer Alphonse Kirimobenecyo designed the flag, which depicts the sun illuminating Rwanda's abundant vegetation.

The upper half is blue and bears on its right-hand side the image of the sun with its rays of golden yellow.

[25] The flag flies at half-mast during the first week of commemoration of the Rwandan genocide, observed annually from 7 to 13 April, as a sign of national mourning and remembrance.

[26] Foreign delegations and organisations in the country are encouraged to do the same to their national flags during this period as a sign of solidarity.

[27] Disrespecting, denigrating or damaging the national flag carries a sentence of 6 to 12 months in prison, a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 Rwandan francs, or both.

[29] Any other deliberate misuse of the flag, such as the use of incorrect colours, is punishable by 1 to 6 months in prison, a fine of 500,000 to 1,000,000 francs, or both.

This change in relationship between the Germans and Rwandans was symbolised by the former's presentation of the Reichsflagge and a letter of protection to Yuhi V of Rwanda.

[32] The Belgian mandate, and later UN trust territory, of Ruanda-Urundi was subsequently established later that year and confirmed by the League of Nations in 1922.

[33] The coup of Gitarama on 28 January 1961 and subsequent referendum on the monarchy on 25 September saw the abolition of the Tutsi-dominated kingdom and the establishment of a Hutu-dominated republic.

The coup occurred amid the wider Rwandan Revolution, a period of social change and ethnic violence between the Tutsi minority and Hutu majority.

[34] Grégoire Kayibanda, the Prime Minister of the Provisional Government, proclaimed a new national flag: a vertical tricolour of red, yellow, and green.

[37][3][4] A nationwide contest was held to determine the new flag's design, and a submission by Rwandan artist and engineer Alphonse Kirimobenecyo was ultimately selected.

[2] However, a number of Rwandans interviewed by American anthropologist Jennie E. Burnet before the flag's adoption expressed doubts about the government's official explanation for the change and viewed the move as an attempt by the RPF to assert its political power.