Cape Town - A Joburg businessman who was on holiday in the city was gunned down outside a popular Gugulethu bar at the weekend.
On Monday police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut said Eugene Papo, 41, was shot and killed outside the Corner Lounge on the corner of NY138 and NY116.
The killing took place at around 7pm on Sunday, Traut said.
As Papo was leaving the Corner Lounge two men approached him and shot him twice in the face.
They then shot him twice as he lay on the ground.
The gunmen fled the scene in a black Hyundai sedan, Traut said.
According to his LinkedIn page, Papo was the managing director at Qualibooks Naledi and also a managing partner at Jaguar Capital.
Donald Kau, who had met Papo for the first time on Friday soon after he arrived in Cape Town, said in a Facebook post they believed it was a case of mistaken identity because Papo was well-liked in Joburg. They did not understand why anyone would want to kill him.
Kau described him as a “gentleman stranger”. “We shared a beer, he met a bunch of my Cape Town peeps and we parted a few hours later,” Kau wrote after hearing about Papo’s death.
“I promised to set him up for a visit to a classic car showroom to bring his restored Benz in for a valuation.
“This morning I got news of his passing. May his soul go well. He leaves my world a better place. The few hours I knew him were impressive,” Kau wrote.
More of Papo’s friends expressed their anger on Facebook.
Ciko Thomas, managing executive for consumer banking at Nedbank, wrote on his Facebook wall: “Rest in Peace Eugene Dikwaps Papo shot dead due to mistaken identity in a public space. South Africa on the eve of 2014 – such savagery. Such a waste of a beautiful life.”
At least 27 people commented on Thomas’s post, expressing their condolences and shock at the incident.
Azola Zuma wrote: “4 times. They shot him 4 times. So heartbreaking, so senseless.”
Dan Marokane wrote: “Totally disgusted at this… what have we become as society?”
Another friend, Bontle Makgwa, wrote on her Facebook page that Papo was the friend she would go to jazz sessions with because they both enjoyed it.
“Who’s going to do Jazz sessions with me again???”
Papo’s brother, Christoffel Papo, flew to Cape Town on Monday. He spoke briefly to the Cape Argus.
Christoffel Papo said he did not have enough information about what had happened.
“All I know is that he was in the company of friends and it was a case of mistaken identity.”