“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, remaining, and an investigator appointed via the Countrywide Lotteries Commission to analyze the Lottery-funded minstrel museum: Photograph from an investigative report commissioned by the NLC
Richard “Pot” Stemmet is experiencing prosecution right after products paid out for with money within the Lottery was faraway from a Cape City making he rented.
Stemmet is to seem in courtroom in January.
As outlined by a prosecutor the prison charges could consist of fraud, removing of apparatus that had been connected with the Sheriff and interfering having a Town of Cape Town energy meter.
The charges stem from a grievance laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who, in the civil court docket issue, is in search of to Get better over R2.5-million in unpaid rent, fascination, authorized prices and damage to a rented building in Crete Road, in the commercial region of Wetton in Cape Town.
The creating was Earlier the headquarters of your Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) and is exactly where a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the city’s centuries-previous minstrel tradition was supposedly working.
Convicted criminal Richard “Pot” Stemmet is going through prosecution for theft and fraud after tools compensated for with Lottery cash was removed from a Cape Town building.
Stemmet was arrested because of the Specialised Industrial Criminal offense Unit on 16 Oct 2024 and informed to look inside the Wynberg Justice of the peace’s Courtroom on 21 November.
GroundUp attended court docket on the day even so the make any difference was not placed on the court roll because the investigating officer did not provide the docket to prosecutors. Stemmet has now been summonsed to appear in court in January.
The legal fees stem from a complaint laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who's trying to get to Get better more than R2.five-million in unpaid lease, desire, authorized fees and damage to a rented building in Crete Highway, in the commercial spot of Wetton in Cape Town.
The building was Earlier the headquarters from the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA). This is where a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating town’s hundreds of years-previous minstrel culture was supposedly running.
The premises also housed many companies owned by Stemmet, whom law enforcement have called a medication superior flier. Amongst the companies Stemmet ran through the premises have been a hat manufacturing firm along with a nightclub. Stemmet has long been arrested a number of periods for gun and drug-related offences and served time for armed robbery inside the 1980s.
In accordance with an SMS sent to Meuwese through the investigating officer, Stemmet has now been summonsed to appear in court docket on 30 January 2025.
Whilst Stemmet is yet to be introduced that has a cost sheet, achievable fees, contain fraud, removal of apparatus that were attached via the Sheriff, and interfering by using a Town of Cape Town energy meter, As outlined by an electronic mail despatched to Meuwese by a senior prosecutor dealing with the matter.
A grant of virtually R13-million to establish the minstrel museum was Component of a lot more than R64-million in Lottery cash allotted into the CTMCA in between 2003 and 2017, with the bulk of the money - about R54.three-million - compensated while in the 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 fiscal yrs, In keeping with Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) annual reports.
Stemmet was appointed a director of your CTMCA in September 1996 but resigned in December 2016. His wife Zainonesa and daughter Raziah ongoing หวย วัน นี้ as two of several administrators in the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed as being a director in 2021.
Based on Meuwese, the setting up was leased to Stalph 164, a close corporation of which Stemmet was one of the directors. The corporate was deregistered by the businesses and Intellectual Home Commission (CIPC) in March 2023 for non-compliance in distributing once-a-year reports.
A whole new entity with the identical title was subsequently registered as A non-public corporation, but with Stemmet now not a director, Based on CIPC information. As a substitute, a loved one, Ra’ees Stemmet, and Alfonzo van Niekerk were being appointed as administrators.
About the evening of twelve April 2021 and into the next morning, the Crete Highway premises have been cleared as well as the equipment was taken out, In accordance with an affidavit by Meuwese. The gear was moved to new premises rented by Stemmet in Mymoena Crescent during the Athlone industrial spot, which housed a number of of Stemmet’s corporations as well as a new “minstrel museum”, according to a leaked investigative report commissioned with the NLC. The investigator also photographed the machines at The brand new premises.
Having said that, the supposed new museum internet site, such as the outdated just one in Wetton, was perfectly away from any of Cape City’s vacationer routes and people couldn't access it. There was no signage around the developing indicating that it housed a museum.
Stemmet’s companies vacated the premises before this calendar year soon after he fell ill.
The funding to establish a museum wasn't the only lottery grant the CTMCA obtained. In 2021, the Affiliation was allocated R100,000 and R1.5-million in Covid aid grants. The NLC at first refused to expose who experienced obtained Covid funding but finally relented beneath media and parliamentary pressure.
Other lottery grants allocated to non-financial gain entities linked to Stemmet and his household and his associates consist of R1.4-million for your Cape Cultural Carnival and Activities Committee in 2019/20, and a further R500,000 in 2021/22, In line with NLC annual studies. Stemmet is actually a former director on the committee and his wife, Zainonesa, is at the moment a director.
And, the Peninsula and District Carnival Association, which can be registered in the CTMCA’s previous Crete Street places of work, was allocated R190,000 in 2019/twenty, and an additional R635,000 in 2021/22 for any “craft, woodwork and style programme”. Nevertheless, it seems that the 2021/22 payment was withheld after the NLC elevated questions on superb stories linked to before funding received through the CTMCA.
GroundUp has confirmed the SIU is investigating the lottery funding gained via the CTMCA.
Also under investigation is really a R1-million payment through the CTMCA to MDU Consulting Engineers, which subsequently paid out R500,000 of this to legal professionals performing in the purchase of a R27-million mansion for previous NLC Board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
MDU also acted as a conduit for an extra R3-m payment by Zibsimanzi, a firm where the wife of previous NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba was a director, towards the acquisition in the mansion. Zibsimanzi received R4.eight-million to phase a rural soccer Match in Limpopo right after Letwaba Individually advisable which the grant be paid to his wife’s company.
GroundUp despatched thoughts to Stemmet by way of SMS but he had not replied by the point of publication.