DJ Warras murder: SAPS denies reports of suspects questioned amid social media frenzy
Warrick Stock, known as DJ Warras, was shot dead in Johannesburg’s CBD on Tuesday. Gauteng police have denied reports that suspects have been taken in for questioning.
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Police in Gauteng have denied widespread reports and social media posts alleging that suspects have been taken in for questioning or arrested in connection with the murder of popular Johannesburg DJ and property activist Warrick Stock, popularly known as DJ Warras.
Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Tintswalo Sibeko told IOL News on Thursday morning that the investigation is continuing and that no suspects have been detained.
“There is no suspect taken for questioning or arrested. Investigation is continuing,” Sibeko told IOL.
The clarification by SAPS follows a social media frenzy on Thursday, with several accounts alleging that three people had been taken in for questioning in connection with the killing.
SABC News also reported on Thursday morning that three people had been taken in for questioning - a claim Gauteng police have since dismissed.
CCTV footage points to targeted hit
DJ Warras was shot and killed on Tuesday, December 16, in the afternoon, outside Zambesi House in Johannesburg’s CBD.
Police investigating the murder have indicated that the primary suspect is a short man with dreadlocks. Video footage shows the suspect approaching Stock as he was leaving the building before opening fire and fleeing the scene.
On Wednesday, Johannesburg MMC for Public Safety Dr Mgcini Tshwaku said analysis of the footage strongly suggests that the killing was a targeted hit linked to Stock’s work in reclaiming hijacked buildings.
“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 in an interview with Newzroom Afrika.
Five protection orders obtained before killing
Tshwaku revealed that DJ Warras had obtained five protection orders against individuals who had allegedly threatened him prior to his murder.
“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.
He added that law enforcement agencies would be questioning the individuals named in the protection orders as part of the ongoing investigation.
Political condemnation follows killing
The murder has drawn strong political reaction, with ActionSA president Herman Mashaba describing the killing as a brutal attack on those who confront criminal networks in Johannesburg’s inner city.
Mashaba said the perpetrators 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 murder would not deter efforts to reclaim the city.
“If the thugs behind his assassination believe they have stopped the fight to reclaim Johannesburg’s inner city, they are gravely mistaken,” Mashaba said.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
IOL News