A BRIT tourist who was shot dead in South Africa was a surgeon on a family trip to Cape Town.
The 40-year-old was gunned down in in Nyanga after he took a wrong turn from the airport and accidentally drove into a riot.
ReutersMembers of the South African police stand near a burnt-out vehicle in Nyanga during the ongoing strike[/caption]
Protests erupted over new laws for taxi drivers in Cape Town
Street clashes sparked by a week-long taxi drivers strike had erupted in the area and the Brit is understood to have been killed when he stopped his car.
Three passengers in the car – including a small child – witnessed the horror and were taken to hospital for treatment for severe trauma.
Now it’s been revealed that he worked as a trauma and orthopaedic consultant at a hospital near London, and had been awarded numerous international fellowships, reports The Times.
A police spokesman said: “The deceased was seated in the driver seat with a gunshot wound to the head.
“Two passengers in shock and an infant were transported to a local hospital for medical treatment.”
Lirandzu Themba, the spokeswoman for the police minister, said: “The 40-year-old doctor was driving with two other persons in the vehicle.
“From the airport he apparently took a wrong turn off on Thursday evening and headed towards Nyanga.
“In Ntlangano Crescent a number of suspects approached his vehicle, shot and killed him. No arrests yet.”
A Foreign Office spokesman confirmed it was supporting the man’s family and speaking to local authorities.
Protests erupted after a law was introduced giving the authorities the power to impound taxi driver’s vehicles for driving without a licence, or registration plates.
Cops started impounding vehicles last week – sparking violence as protesters torched buses and cars and pelted the police with stones.
The office of the City of Cape Town said the riots had hit commuters leaving people stranded due to attacks on public transport.
Cape Town city mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said: “In Cape Town, violence will never be tolerated as a negotiating tactic.”
Nyanga is one of the most dangerous places in South Africa.