The Johannesburg magistrate’s court has dismissed an application by murder accused Victor Majola to have CCTV footage allegedly capturing the fatal shooting of entertainer Warrick “DJ Warras” Stock presented in court.
Magistrate Annelise Thlapi ruled on Thursday that summoning the footage at this stage would risk interfering with ongoing investigations, as the video was under forensic analysis and not yet ready for presentation.
The footage, recorded by a security camera at a butchery near the murder scene, is believed to show about 45 minutes of movement involving the alleged gunman and accused mastermind Majola before and after DJ Warras was shot dead outside Zambezi Flats in the Johannesburg CBD.
According to evidence already before court, the investigating officer, Abe Montwedi, testified that the footage allegedly shows Majola seated with two others, including the shooter, shortly before the attack.
In dismissing the application, Thlapi said bail proceedings were not a trial and that the accused, who faces schedule 6 charges of premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit murder, carries the onus of proving exceptional circumstances warranting his release.
The magistrate noted that the investigating officer’s testimony about what he observed in the footage, although hearsay, was admissible in bail proceedings and sufficient for the court to make a decision at this stage.
She added that once forensic analysis was complete, a formal Section 212 report would be made available to the defence during trial proceedings.
The court also heard details of a protection order previously obtained by DJ Warras against six individuals linked to a dispute at Zambezi Flats over rental collections and control of security at the building.
The threats were made against Stock and his business partner at two separate events in November 2025.
His first court appearance in relation to the protection order took place on December 12 2025, with the matter postponed to February 2026.
During bail proceedings, the state argued that the protection order was part of the broader context leading up to the murder, suggesting escalating tensions before the fatal shooting.
Majola, who has been in custody since his arrest in December, has denied any involvement in the killing. His defence maintains that he was in Soweto at the time of the shooting and that the case against him was based on mistaken identity.
He was gone for about 15 minutes and returned
— Lawyer Dumisani Mabunda
In support of this claim, Majola’s lawyer, Dumisani Mabunda, presented a statement on Thursday from a mechanic who says Majola was with him on December 16, the day DJ Warras was killed.
According to the statement, Majola arrived at the man’s workplace at about 11am, driving a black Volkswagen Golf, and remained there with him and other individuals who were repairing a vehicle.
The statement says Majola stayed with the group for several hours and left briefly at about 2pm to withdraw cash from a nearby ATM.
“He was gone for about 15 minutes and returned,” Mabunda told the court, adding that the version makes it “impossible for Majola to have been in two places at the same time”.
After the ruling, Mabunda requested permission to submit a supplementary affidavit to formally place the alibi evidence before court. The request was granted.
The bail hearing was postponed to Friday for the state’s final arguments, after which the court is expected to deliver a ruling on whether Majola will be released on bail.
TimesLIVE
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