[Image: Flickr]
Eastern Cape artist Thembani Hastings Mqhayi is not letting this one go quietly.
He’s doubling down, digging in his heels, and making it very clear: the South African flag? Yeah, that’s his brainchild — or so he says.
Now, in a fresh twist, Mqhayi has fired off a letter to Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, wanting to have what he calls “discussions around this thing.”
Let’s rewind a bit. Back in 2022, Mqhayi dragged the matter to the High Court in Pretoria, taking aim at then-Minister Nathi Mthethwa and the State Herald. They were listed as the first and second respondents, and he wasn’t playing nice.
Fast forward to last year, and suddenly, IOL was reporting that the government found itself in a messy legal scrap with Mqhayi over the design of the flag.
The department, for its part, has denied everything. According to them, Mqhayi had nothing to do with the rainbow banner waving over Parliament.
But Mqhayi is unwavering. For years, he’s accused the late Fredericks Brownell — the man credited with designing the flag — of lifting his work and passing it off as his own. Brownell, who died in 2019, was celebrated as a national treasure and held the post of State Herald from 1982 to 2002. A man of archives, not drama.
Still, Mqhayi isn’t budging. He says Brownell straight-up stole his work and strutted off with the credit.
And now, as Mzansi marked Freedom Day on Sunday, Mqhayi’s spokesperson Bandile Magibili made it clear on Newzroom Afrika: they’re not just “claiming” ownership, they’re owning it.
“I think the word of claiming is overused. The design of the flag of the country is indeed Mr Thembani Hastings Mqhayi’s design. We did make a couple of submissions.
“As you may be aware, we invited the department, the Ministry of Arts and Culture, headed by Minister Gayton McKenzie, to be part of this interview, and they refused to be on board.
“So, if they had nothing to hide, and they had all the facts, they would come to the interview. They reject all interviews relating to this subject. It is Mr Mqhayi’s design,” said Magibili.
When it comes to proof, Magibili says they’re not empty-handed. They’ve got “some information”, including what they claim are juicy records from the Department itself.
But here’s the kicker: McKenzie’s office hasn’t responded to Mqhayi’s olive branch-slash-court-prep invitation. And time’s ticking.
“The next step is that we are giving the office of the Minister Gayton McKenzie, I hope he is watching … The next step is that we are going to proceed, and I do not think we are going to be open to any further discussions. We are giving them until the end of May,” said Magibili.
Mqhayi maintains that the flag was one of five original designs he submitted in early 1994 to the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture. According to him, he jumped into action after Mandela himself called on South Africans in 1993 to submit designs for the new flag of a democratic South Africa.
In his affidavit, Mqhayi says he answered that call and sent in five original flag designs. One of them, he claims, was the design that went on to become the national flag.
There’s just one hiccup: he posted them via the East London Post Office and didn’t keep any copies. A paper trail without the paper isn’t going to help him here.
[Source: iol]
