“Pot” Stemmet faces fees around theft of Lottery-funded tools
“Pot” Stemmet faces fees around theft of Lottery-funded tools
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Richard “Pot” Stemmet, left, and an investigator appointed through the National Lotteries Commission to research the Lottery-funded minstrel museum: Photo from an investigative report commissioned with the NLC
Richard “Pot” Stemmet is going through prosecution soon after machines paid for with money within the Lottery was removed from a Cape Town making he rented.
Stemmet is to look in court docket in January.
As outlined by a prosecutor the felony rates could contain fraud, removal of kit that had been hooked up with the Sheriff and interfering by using a City of Cape Town electricity meter.
The fees stem from the complaint laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who, inside a civil courtroom make a difference, is in search of to recover about R2.5-million in unpaid lease, desire, legal costs and damage to a rented setting up in Crete Road, in the economic place of Wetton in Cape City.
The developing was Beforehand the headquarters of the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) and is particularly where a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating town’s generations-previous minstrel culture was supposedly running.
Convicted felony Richard “Pot” Stemmet is facing prosecution for theft and fraud just after products compensated for with Lottery money was faraway from a Cape City constructing.
Stemmet was arrested from the Specialised Business Criminal offense Device on 16 Oct 2024 and informed to look inside the Wynberg Justice of the peace’s Court docket on 21 November.
GroundUp attended courtroom on the working day however the make any difference was not placed on the court roll because the investigating officer didn't produce the docket to prosecutors. Stemmet has now been summonsed to look in courtroom in January.
The criminal costs stem from a criticism laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who's trying to get to recover around R2.5-million in unpaid rent, curiosity, legal expenditures and harm to a rented setting up in Crete Road, in the commercial location of Wetton in Cape Town.
The creating was Formerly the headquarters from the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA). This is when a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the city’s generations-previous minstrel society was supposedly functioning.
The premises also housed quite a few corporations owned by Stemmet, whom police have described as a medicine higher flier. Among the the businesses Stemmet ran through the premises ended up a hat producing organization and also a nightclub. Stemmet has actually been arrested several instances for gun and drug-relevant offences and served time for armed theft in the nineteen eighties.
In accordance with an SMS despatched to Meuwese by the investigating officer, Stemmet has now been summonsed to seem in court on thirty January 2025.
While Stemmet is however to become introduced which has a cost sheet, attainable expenses, involve fraud, removing of equipment that were attached via the Sheriff, and interfering that has a City of Cape Town electricity meter, As outlined by an electronic mail despatched to Meuwese by a senior prosecutor managing the make a difference.
A grant of almost R13-million to ascertain the minstrel museum was A part of a lot more than R64-million in Lottery cash allotted for the CTMCA involving 2003 and 2017, with the majority of The cash - around R54.3-million - paid out during the 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 financial a long time, In line with Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) annual reviews.
Stemmet was appointed a director of your CTMCA in September 1996 but resigned in December 2016. His wife Zainonesa and daughter Raziah continued ตัว หวย as two of various administrators in the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed like a director in 2021.
As outlined by Meuwese, the constructing was leased to Stalph 164, a close Company of which Stemmet was among the administrators. The business was deregistered by the Companies and Mental Property Commission (CIPC) in March 2023 for non-compliance in publishing once-a-year studies.
A new entity Together with the exact identify was subsequently registered as a private enterprise, but with Stemmet not a director, according to CIPC records. In its place, a family member, Ra’ees Stemmet, and Alfonzo van Niekerk have been appointed as directors.
Around the evening of twelve April 2021 and into the next morning, the Crete Highway premises were being cleared and the equipment was taken out, As outlined by an affidavit by Meuwese. The products was moved to new premises rented by Stemmet in Mymoena Crescent inside the Athlone industrial area, which housed quite a few of Stemmet’s firms as well as a new “minstrel museum”, according to a leaked investigative report commissioned because of the NLC. The investigator also photographed the gear at the new premises.
However, the supposed new museum web site, like the old just one in Wetton, was well from any of Cape Town’s tourist routes and site visitors could not accessibility it. There was no signage to the building indicating that it housed a museum.
Stemmet’s businesses vacated the premises before this yr right after he fell unwell.
The funding to ascertain a museum was not the only real lottery grant the CTMCA obtained. In 2021, the Affiliation was allocated R100,000 and R1.five-million in Covid relief grants. The NLC in the beginning refused to reveal who had received Covid funding but at last relented less than media and parliamentary stress.
Other lottery grants allotted to non-gain entities linked to Stemmet and his relatives and his associates contain R1.4-million to the Cape Cultural Carnival and Events Committee in 2019/twenty, and a further R500,000 in 2021/22, Based on NLC annual reports. Stemmet is a previous director in the committee and his wife, Zainonesa, is presently a director.
And, the Peninsula and District Carnival Affiliation, which happens to be registered within the CTMCA’s former Crete Highway offices, was allotted R190,000 in 2019/20, and an additional R635,000 in 2021/22 to get a “craft, woodwork and design programme”. On the other hand, it appears that the 2021/22 payment was withheld after the NLC lifted questions on exceptional stories related to previously funding acquired via the CTMCA.
GroundUp has confirmed that the SIU is investigating the lottery funding received from the CTMCA.
Also below investigation is often a R1-million payment via the CTMCA to MDU Consulting Engineers, which subsequently paid out R500,000 of this to legal professionals performing in the purchase of the R27-million mansion for previous NLC Board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
MDU also acted being a conduit for an additional R3-m payment by Zibsimanzi, a company in which the spouse of former NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba was a director, to the purchase of the mansion. Zibsimanzi been given R4.8-million to phase a rural soccer tournament in Limpopo after Letwaba personally recommended the grant be compensated to his wife’s corporation.
GroundUp sent inquiries to Stemmet by using SMS but he had not replied by the time of publication.