DJ Warras cherished Johannesburg. He imagined a city where families could live and raise their children. He hoped that the city would change for the betterment of its citizens and the nation.
But on Tuesday, December 16, the ambitious plan was stopped.
The media personality's mission of "taking back" Johannesburg's central business district and reclaiming buildings that had been taken over has been cut short by his brutal murder.
In a recent interview, Warras openly discussed the difficult task of repairing the city's dilapidated properties.
“We have buildings in the CBD wasting away because people aren’t paying rent,” he said. “If we try to fix them, we’re told we can’t remove anyone unless we provide alternative accommodation. Ten lawyers will be on your back within an hour. But someone has to take responsibility; everyone comes from somewhere.”
He said most tenants, about 85 to 90%, were hardworking people who simply wanted a safe place to live, go to work, and raise their children, while a small minority resisted any form of progress. Warras believed ActionSA president Herman Mashaba was capable of driving real change but said past efforts had been blocked.
DJ Warras was attacked outside Zambezi House in Johannesburg’s CBD, a building home to about 250 occupants, with roughly half reportedly not paying rent. CCTV footage shows a short man with dreadlocks approaching Warras shortly after noon and opening fire, while another suspect wearing a security uniform was seen near his car. Cartridges were recovered at the scene, and police are tracing both the suspects and the murder weapon.
The city later clarified that Warras was not with the building owner at the time of the shooting. Officials said he was working with an independent security company on implementing biometric access control systems and had been contracted through his private security firm, Imperium Security, to secure the premises and assist with rent collection, a private arrangement, not a city mandate.
Warras was also outspoken about political leadership in Johannesburg, saying he was unconvinced that Helen Zille, the chairperson of the DA’s federal council and a mayoral candidate for the city, was the right person to fix Johannesburg.
“Honestly, the only person who has proven to me that he can do what it takes in Johannesburg is Mashaba,” Warras said.
“When he started making an impact, he was labelled xenophobic, but that was never the case. I don’t care what people call me — racist, xenophobic, or sexist — I’m about getting the work done,” he added.
He argued that Mashaba’s attempts to confront issues such as illegal immigration and urban decay were undermined by political opposition and some NGOs, which he claimed benefited from disorder in the city.
Speaking to The Star, ActionSA Gauteng media officer Zwelithini Mtshali said the hijacking of buildings was driven by organised criminal syndicates and should be treated as a serious crime. He said specialised law enforcement units, supported by dedicated courts and reporting hotlines, were needed to dismantle these networks and protect whistleblowers.
Mtshali said ActionSA had already secured council approval for an inner-city rejuvenation plan, including the transfer of 154 properties, among them 37 abandoned factories, to private developers, a project expected to create 22 000 construction jobs and deliver 14 000 social housing units. However, he said the resolution had stalled due to a lack of political will.
“Dealing with foot soldiers is ineffective because it leaves the masterminds behind this scourge intact,” Mtshali said.
He warned that the erosion of the rule of law was fuelling urban decay and criminality. “A city with no rule of law is unsustainable,” he said, adding that specialised units must be empowered to follow money trails and dismantle organised crime structures.
On the killing of Warras,’ Mtshali said investigations were ongoing but described it as concerning that Warras had been outspoken against hijacked buildings and had reportedly secured five protection orders against some occupants of the Zambezi Building.
“We will await the outcome of the police investigation and pursue the necessary actions thereafter,” he said.
Mtshali said ActionSA already has a tested blueprint to eradicate hijacked buildings, pointing to Mashaba’s record between 2016 and 2019 and to Tshwane, where ActionSA-led interventions have seen buildings reclaimed.
“This is not electioneering,” he said. “In Johannesburg and Tshwane, we have shown that consequence management is possible.”
He added that vulnerable occupants would be provided with alternative accommodation, biometric systems would be installed to ensure lawful occupation, and officials who fail to act must face consequences.
“South Africa cannot afford officials who turn a blind eye to lawlessness,” Mtshali said.
The Star