New CCTV footage reveals moments before DJ Warras killing as bail ruling looms
New CCTV footage has shed fresh light on the moments before media personality Warrick “DJ Warras” Stock was gunned down in Johannesburg’s CBD – while the man accused of ordering the hit waits to hear whether he will be granted bail.
The Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court is expected to hand down its bail judgment on Monday for Victor Majola, a Soweto taxi boss arrested in connection with Stock’s murder. Majola has been in the dock since Tuesday for his bail application, which wrapped up on Friday when the state delivered its closing arguments.
At the same time, Eyewitness News (EWN) has obtained and published CCTV footage that appears to show the alleged shooter and his accomplice in the minutes leading up to the killing on 16 December in the inner city.
Stock leaves hijacked building moments before gunfire
The footage supplied to EWN starts at 16 minutes past 12 on the day of the murder. Stock is seen wearing a black T-shirt, walking on Von Wielligh Street in Marshalltown.
He has just exited Zambesi House, described as a hijacked building on the busy strip. Stock was there to assist contractors who were installing a biometric system in the foyer of the building – part of efforts to tighten access control.
On his left, walking alongside him, is an unidentified man in a white T-shirt. The pair move out of the camera’s view in the direction of Fox Street.
Audi Q7, phone call and seconds before shots
According to earlier testimony from investigating officer Abe Montwedi, Stock then briefly steps into a vehicle he was using that day – an Audi Q7 – which is parked just a few metres away near informal street vendors.
Although this particular movement happens out of frame in the EWN clip, Montwedi told the court that Stock opened the passenger side door, got into the Audi while talking on his cellphone, then climbed out, closed the vehicle and locked it, before starting to walk back towards Zambesi House.
From the time Stock is first seen leaving the building, it is about 54 seconds before chaos erupts. Now at 17 minutes past 12, people in the street are suddenly seen ducking and scrambling for cover.
In the commotion, the CCTV shows a man identified as the alleged shooter moving in the crowd.
Stock was shot five times.
Alleged gunman and missing keys
The alleged gunman is clearly visible in the footage. He is dressed in a green T-shirt, blue floral shorts, sandals and a cap.
After the shots are fired, the man appears to double back and bend down to pick up something from the ground. It is believed this may be the keys to the Audi Q7, which Stock had been using earlier in the day. Investigators have noted that the keys were never recovered.
The shooter then calmly walks in the direction of Fox Street, blending back into the movement of people on the street.
Gift bag and accomplice in second camera angle
Another camera angle in the CCTV material shows a second suspect – described as the accomplice – near the informal vendor stalls close to where the Audi is parked just out of shot.
This man is seen picking up two bags, one of which is a dark yellow gift bag.
EWN understands that the gun used to kill Stock was concealed in this gift bag. In earlier parts of the footage, the main shooter is picked up carrying the same bag, after apparently being flagged by his accomplice.
Once the accomplice has collected the bags, the shooter is seen quickly following him as the pair make their way towards Fox Street, leaving the scene within moments of the attack.
Defence tries to use EWN footage to clear Majola
Back in court, Majola’s lawyer Dumisani Mabunda seized on the publication of the EWN footage in an attempt to strengthen his client’s bid for bail.
During this week’s proceedings, Mabunda argued that the clip – which captures the moments immediately preceding the murder but does not show the actual shooting itself – proves that Majola is not involved.
The video clearly shows two men, believed to be the alleged gunman and his accomplice. Mabunda told the court that Majola is nowhere to be seen in the footage and claimed this means he cannot be linked to the crime.
State points to additional, earlier footage
State prosecutor Vincent Mochabela pushed back, insisting the EWN material does not tell the full story of what investigators have gathered.
He referred the court to earlier evidence given by investigating officer Abe Montwedi, who testified that the police have additional CCTV footage that has not been made public.
According to Montwedi’s testimony, Majola is allegedly seen on footage recorded much earlier on the day Stock was killed.
The officer told the court that Majola appeared in that separate recording sitting on a pavement with two other suspects for around 45 minutes. This earlier clip, the state says, helps place Majola in the orbit of the suspects believed to have carried out the hit.
The EWN footage, by contrast, focuses on the brief, crucial passage of time as Stock leaves Zambesi House, heads towards his Audi, and is then shot on his way back.
Bail decision due on Monday
With both sides having closed their arguments, the court has postponed the matter until Monday, when the magistrate is expected to deliver a formal decision on whether Majola will be released on bail.
Stock, known to audiences as DJ Warras, was gunned down in the Johannesburg CBD on 16 December, outside the hijacked Zambesi House building where he had been helping to set up a biometric access system.
As the legal process continues, the newly surfaced CCTV footage offers the clearest public glimpse yet of the alleged gunman, his accomplice, the Audi Q7, and the mysterious yellow gift bag investigators believe hid the murder weapon – while the courts wrestle with how, and if, Victor Majola fits into that picture.
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