The mystery surrounding the City of Joburg’s historic mayoral chains and the Freedom Regiments Sword has partially been resolved after opposition councillors were recently allowed to inspect some of the artefacts during an oversight visit to a bank vault.
DA councillor Bongani Nkwanyana, a member of the Community Development Committee who has been active in oversight of City artefacts, said councillors were recently taken by City officials to view some of the mayoral chains during an oversight visit after months of questions in council.
“We were eventually taken to the bank vault. We were shown four chains, confirming that at least some of the artefacts are being stored securely. However, the visit did not clarify the fate of the four remaining chains. While we are satisfied that some of the chains are being kept safely, questions do remain about the others,” he said.
The issue became politically contentious after the Democratic Alliance repeatedly demanded clarity from the City of Johannesburg about the location and safeguarding of historic civic artefacts following the closure of the Metro Centre building saying they had received “confusing, misleading and contradictory information” from City officials.
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Johannesburg has accumulated several mayoral chains over time as surrounding municipalities were incorporated into the metropolitan.
These include chains associated with former municipal areas such as Johannesburg, Soweto, Sandton, Roodepoort, Midrand, Randburg, Lenasia and Ennerdale.
Traditionally worn by the mayor during official ceremonies, the mayoral chain is one of the most recognisable symbols of civic authority.
Many of the chains are crafted from gold and decorated with the city’s coat of arms, making them both historically significant and valuable ceremonial objects.
The Freedom Regiments Sword
The controversy over the chains also drew attention to another historic artefact once displayed inside the Metro Centre — the Freedom Regiments Sword.
The ceremonial sword hung for decades in the foyer outside the mayoral chambers at the City’s civic headquarters and had become the subject of speculation after it was removed from the building.
But representatives of the military regiments linked to the artefact say those claims are incorrect.
According to Lt Col (Ret.) Harry van Staden of the Johannesburg Regiment Association, the sword was removed in July 2024 after the Metro Centre — once the heart of Johannesburg’s municipal government — was declared unsafe and council operations relocated.
“The sword has not gone missing,” van Staden said. “It is safe and will soon be placed in a proper heritage environment where it can be viewed by the public.”
Van Staden said the artefact does not belong to the City of Johannesburg.
“The sword belongs to the Freedom Regiments Association, the association which commissioned it and paid for it. The City simply provided the space where it could be displayed.”
Members of the Johannesburg Regiment Association raised concerns about the safety of the sword after attending a parade at the building in April 2024 and noting the deteriorating condition of the premises.
The Freedom Regiments Association subsequently authorised the regiment association to remove the artefact for safekeeping.
On 24 July 2024, representatives of the regiment association — together with officials from the Speaker’s office and municipal security — removed the sword from its display position, said Van Staden.
The following day he notified the Speaker’s office that the artefact had been secured and placed in private storage.
A new home at the military museum
The sword is now expected to become part of a permanent display at the Ditsong National Museum of Military History in Saxonwold. The artefact was transferred from storage to the museum armoury last week (((7 March 2026))) for cleaning and preparation.
It will then be mounted in a new Regiments Room scheduled to open officially on 24 May 2026.
“We felt it deserved a place where it could be properly appreciated,” Van Staden said.
“When visitors come to the museum they will be able to see the sword and learn about the relationship between Johannesburg and the regiments that have served the city.”
The Freedom Regiments Sword was originally commissioned in 1986 during Johannesburg’s centenary celebrations, when several reserve force units exercised their Freedom of Entry to the City of Johannesburg during a ceremonial parade.
Under this centuries-old civic tradition, military units granted the honour may march through a city with bayonets fixed, colours flying and bands playing.
The sword was created as a symbolic tribute to that relationship and installed in the Metro Centre, where it remained on display for nearly four decades.
Van Staden also dismissed speculation about the sword’s material value.
“There have been rumours that the sword is made of gold, which is simply not correct,” he said.
“The blade is stainless steel mounted on a brushed stainless-steel backing plate. It was produced as a ceremonial display piece for the city’s centenary celebrations, and its significance lies in its history rather than its material value.”
The City of Johannesburg did not respond to repeated questions from this publication about the total number of chains or the location of those not shown during the oversight visit.
