A “fallout” between a North West businessman and his former service provider has turned ugly, leading the businessman to obtain an interim protection order against the female service provider after they allegedly threw rocks at each other on Women’s Day.
In a recent media statement, Gentle Maxopani, the CEO of Pyramid Group Funerals, said a woman by the name of Julia Semathu threw mud rocks and stones at him at Rietvlei Cemetery in Rustenburg, North West, on August 9, while her husband, Mmusi Semathu, recorded a video of the incident.
Maxopani (39) said Semathu threw stones at him first before he responded by throwing stones at her.
Sunday World has seen two videos of the incident.
The first video shows Maxopani (dressed in red pants) arriving at Rievlei Cemetery in his car and then walking towards the burial set-up of Semathu and Mmusi, telling them to stop taking pictures of him.
In the second video, Maxopani is being thrown with rocks at the start of the video. The identity of the person pelting him with rocks is unclear. Then Maxopani throws the unidentified person with a rock.
Promoting culture of non-violence
“As the CEO of Pyramid Group Funerals, I, Gentle Maxopani, would like to address a recent incident involving myself and Julia Semathu,” said Maxopani.
“I am very remorseful for my actions and regret my actions during the altercation, and I acknowledge that they were unacceptable.
“I want to emphasise that I denounce gender-based violence and have never abused women. I will never abuse a woman or any other human being for that matter.
“As a father, husband, brother, uncle, and son, I understand the importance of treating all individuals with respect and dignity.”
He continued: “Unfortunately, the recent incident was a result of provocation and harassment by Julia Semathu, who has a history of harassing me.
“It is imperative to identify and recognise her husband’s involvement in the ongoing harassment, as their actions have caused me significant harm and distress.
“An unedited and longer video of the incident shows that Julia attacked me first with mud rocks, and stones. While I regret my response, I want to assure the public that I am committed to promoting a culture of non-violence and respect.
“We aim to foster trust within the community and our societies by maintaining transparency and honesty regarding the details of this case.”
Interim protection order
He said he obtained an interim protection order from the Rustenburg Magistrate’s Court against Semathu and Mmusi after the incident.
“I am pleased to announce that the Bojanala Platinum Magisterial District Rustenburg Magistrate’s Court has granted me an interim protection order. The official court sitting is scheduled for October 20, 2025,” said Maxopani.
The temporary protection order, dated August 18, states that Semathu and Mmusi should not insult, harass, intimidate, or assault Maxopani.
It also instructs Semathu and Mmusi not to communicate with Maxopani and not to take videos of Maxopani without his consent.
It also prohibits Semathu and Mmusi from posting on social media about Maxopani or his business.
When asked for a comment, Semathu said she hit Maxopani with stones in self-defence.
“He came to our burial set-up and came close to us. I pushed him away from us, and he hit me with a stone on my head. I picked up the same stone and hit him back in self-defence,” said Semathu.
Semathu declined to respond to further questions.
Mmusi declined to comment and said: “You are interested in writing about fluff so that you can sell newspapers. If you are a journalist, you will investigate this matter and its origins, starting two years ago.”
Maxopani said he suspects the motive behind the attack on him, allegedly by Semathu and Mmusi, is because they had a “fallout” earlier in the year during their business dealings.
He said Semathu used to provide decoration at burial events he would organise until they had a disagreement on business operations.
“They attacked me because they just want to slander the name of my business. I used to work closely with them. We had a fallout, and I stopped working with them,” said Maxopani.
Self-defence
Maxopani’s media liaison officer, Pearl Mbewe, stated that the incident was a “clear case of self-defence” because Maxopani threw the same mud rocks that Semathu had initially used to hit him.
Mbewe said Maxopani opened a case of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm with the police against Semathu after the incident.
She said Semathu and her husband also opened a case of assault against Maxopani after the incident; however, the case against Maxopani was not enrolled on the court roll by the state prosecutor due to insufficient evidence.
“This woman [Semathu] lied and is trying to paint Gentle [Maxopani] as a perpetrator, but she was the one who initiated the attack. She threw five stones at him before he threw them back at her.
“She is making a false accusation of gender-based violence when she was the instigator in this case,” said Mbewe
