'A price was put on his head': DJ Warras had five protection orders before his murder in Joburg
DJ Warras, whose real name was Warrick Stock, was shot and killed outside Zambesi House in Johannesburg’s CBD on Tuesday.
Image: Instagram
Johannesburg MMC for Public Safety Dr Mgcini Tshwaku has revealed that Warrick Stock, popularly known as DJ Warras, had obtained five protection orders against individuals who had allegedly threatened him prior to his murder.
On Tuesday, IOL reported that police investigating Stock’s killing believe the primary suspect is a short man with dreadlocks. Video footage shows the suspect approaching Stock as he was leaving Zambesi House in Johannesburg’s CBD shortly after noon on Tuesday, December 16, before opening fire and fleeing the scene.
Speaking to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika on Wednesday, Tshwaku said analysis of the footage strongly suggests that the murder was a targeted hit.
“We believe that this was a hit. Normally, in the modus operandi in these scenarios, Warrick was doing the normal thing of securing the building to ensure that people pay. But the building hijackers see that as stopping the income that was coming to them,” Tshwaku said.
He added that Stock had secured protection orders against five people known to authorities.
“He had protection orders against five people who are known to us. I have those protection orders, which I received from the lawyers. We believe that a price was put on his head because of the work that he was doing, trying to reclaim that building on behalf of the owner,” Tshwaku said.
Tshwaku said law enforcement agencies would be questioning the individuals named in the protection orders as part of the ongoing investigation.
Earlier on Wednesday, IOL reported that ActionSA president Herman Mashaba has condemned the murder of DJ Warras, describing it as a brutal attack on those who stand up against crime in Johannesburg’s inner city.
Mashaba said those responsible had shown “no regard for human life”, adding that the killers had “declared war on law-abiding South Africans, particularly those who stand up against crime and work to reclaim our communities from these destructive elements”.
He warned that the killing would not deter efforts to reclaim the city, saying: “If the thugs behind his assassination believe they have stopped the fight to reclaim Johannesburg’s inner city, they are gravely mistaken.”
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
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