The City of Johannesburg has confirmed that slain media personality DJ Warras was not the owner of the Zambezi Building, nor was he acting on behalf of the city at the time of his shooting.

The building, which houses around 250 occupants, reportedly has about half of its tenants not paying rent.

Police are investigating the killing of Warrick Stock, popularly known as DJ Warras, which took place on Tuesday, December 16.

Video footage shows a short man with dreadlocks approaching Warras as he left Zambezi House in Johannesburg’s CBD shortly after noon and opened fire, before attempting to flee.

Cartridges were left at the scene.

The shooting occurred opposite the Carlton Centre and was not a drive-by attack.

Footage also shows another suspect, dressed in a security uniform, sitting near Warras’ car.

Police are actively tracing the suspects and the murder weapon.

Gauteng acting provincial commissioner Major Gen Fred Kekana confirmed the details of the attack, while the city clarified Warras’ involvement with the building.

“The city categorically confirms that DJ Warras was not in the company of the owner of the Zambezi Building prior to the shooting,” said Alex Mandlazi, spokesperson for Dr Mgcini Tshwaku, the MMC for Public Safety, in response to an IOL News inquiry.

“At the time, he was engaging with an independent security company regarding the implementation of biometric access control systems,” Mandlazi added.

It is alleged that Warras was inspecting hijacked buildings guarded by his private security company, Imperium Security.

Some occupants of the Zambezi Building were reportedly living there illegally.

“The property owner, through their appointed legal representatives, independently engaged Imperium Security, a private entity linked to DJ Warras, to secure the premises and assist with rent collection,” Mandlazi said.

“This was a private contractual arrangement and not a city mandate.”

He emphasised that the city does not contract private security companies to secure, adding that the focus of its bad buildings strategy is to restore law and order in the inner city.

“The primary operational challenge remains the availability of alternative accommodation for displaced occupants, rather than a lack of policy direction or enforcement intent.”

“The city confirms that it is not working with any private security companies in the securing or monitoring of bad or hijacked buildings.”

“Specifically, Imperium Security was not contracted by the City. Their involvement was solely through a private engagement initiated by the building owner’s legal team,” Mandlazi added.

Meanwhile, the family of DJ Warras has requested privacy as police continue their investigation into the shooting.