Dr Bhavish Sewram was shot in the neck, back and arm last night outside his Greytown Road surgery in Pietermaritzburg city.
A manhunt for his killer has been launched by police.
Police spokesperson Lt Joey Jeevan said Sewram had just started his car when the gunman approached and shot him.
Paramedics tried to resuscitate him, but he was declared dead on the scene.
"The suspect, who was clad in a white 'hoodie', ran down Greytown Road and into the nearby informal settlement," Jeevan was quoted as saying by the 'Independent Online'.
Sewram leaves his wife Yuvadia Singh, an attorney, and two daughters aged five and three.
One of Sewram's close friends said Sewram had received many death threats, and had survived an attempt on his life previously. Sewram had opened a case in October after masked men fired rubber bullets at him.