DJ Warras’ murder: Lesufi says protection orders must be taken seriously by authorities

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi says protection orders must be taken seriously following the murder of Warrick Stock, who was popularly known as “DJ Warras”.

Stock was fatally shot on Tuesday by three assailants while leaving the Zambezi building opposite the Carlton Centre in the Johannesburg CBD. It is suspected that his death may be linked to his security work connected to hijacked buildings. Stock had taken out five protection orders prior to his murder.

Commenting on the murder this week, Lesufi told eNCA that protection orders needed to be taken seriously.

“If somebody says there is a protection order that I need, it must not be an ordinary document, it must be followed with support and resources and it must ensure that it means what its says - protection. His death will serve as a reminder that these protection orders must serve as real protection for those that (need it),” Lesufi said.

He added that the police had significant information about the suspects including from CCTV footage and he hoped the arrests would be swift.

It has been reported that Stock's security company was contracted by the owner of the Zambezi building to carry out security upgrades as some in the building were not paying rent.

Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Public Safety, Dr Mgcini Tshwaku, indicated that Stock had applied for five protection orders against some of the non-paying tenants of the building.

“DJ Warras was approached by the lawyers who were managing the building on behalf of the owner. The owner saw that the rent had decreased drastically, with only 50% of tenants paying, while the rest were not. They had a committee that was collecting rent. One of the companies approached the owners to secure this building to ensure that maintenance is done and the tenants pay, ” Tshwaku said.

Tshwaku also revealed that the 40-year-old had appeared in court on December 12, where he sought a protection order against a woman residing in Zambezi Flats.

“DJ Warras applied for a protection order. We know that the hearing was last week on the 12th of December. So, he was granted that protection order against a certain woman at the Zambezi Flats. He also requested that there must be a raid in that room or in those rooms because there are several people and because they've been citing that those individuals were threatening his security, and they were threatening to burn the whole building, and they were threatening sort of to really deal with him,” Tshwaku stated.

ActionSA leader, Herman Mashaba, who as the mayor of Joburg, led a clean-up campaign targeting hijacked buildings, decried the lack of progress in dealing with this problem.

Mashaba said the city has no less than 500 hijacked buildings, which have become a hive of criminality in the city centre.

“For three years, I served as mayor of the COJ. We identified just over 600 hijacked, abandoned, and derelict properties in the city. I then launched what became the Inner City Rejuvenation Plan, adopted by the Council. By the time I resigned as mayor in November 2019, Council had already approved and awarded 154 properties on long leases to the private sector for development,” Mashaba stated.

Mashaba claimed to possess proof detailing individuals involved in the unlawful ownership and leasing of government and private properties within the city.

He stated that the 154 identified properties were expected to generate over R32 billion in investment for the city.

“These 154 properties were going to bring in R32 billion worth of construction investments into the city, creating 22,000 permanent jobs during the construction phase, with 14,000 residential units, with 30% of the units earmarked for low-cost housing and students. These properties are hijacked by criminal elements, with our politicians turning a blind eye to the situation. Unfortunately, I had to resign,” he stated.

THE MERCURY