“Pot” Stemmet faces rates above theft of Lottery-funded machines
“Pot” Stemmet faces rates above theft of Lottery-funded machines
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Richard “Pot” Stemmet, remaining, and an investigator appointed because of the Nationwide Lotteries Fee to investigate the Lottery-funded minstrel museum: Photograph from an investigative report commissioned via the NLC
Richard “Pot” Stemmet is experiencing prosecution soon after machines compensated for with funds through the Lottery was removed from a Cape Town developing he rented.
Stemmet is to look in courtroom in January.
In line with a prosecutor the criminal charges could involve fraud, elimination of kit that had been connected through the Sheriff and interfering which has a City of Cape City electrical power meter.
The charges stem from a grievance laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who, in a civil court subject, is searching for to Get well over R2.five-million in unpaid hire, desire, legal fees and harm to a rented setting up in Crete Highway, in the industrial region of Wetton in Cape Town.
The creating was Formerly the headquarters from the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) which is wherever a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the town’s centuries-aged minstrel tradition was supposedly operating.
Convicted felony Richard “Pot” Stemmet is going through prosecution for theft and fraud following devices paid for with Lottery money was faraway from a Cape City developing.
Stemmet was arrested because of the Specialised Commercial Crime Unit on 16 October 2024 and explained to to appear inside the Wynberg Justice of the peace’s Court docket on 21 November.
GroundUp attended court docket over the working day however the issue 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 legal fees stem from the grievance laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who's searching for to recover over R2.five-million in unpaid rent, desire, authorized expenses and harm to a rented creating in Crete Highway, in the commercial area of Wetton in Cape Town.
The building was Formerly the headquarters with the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA). This is where a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the town’s generations-aged minstrel culture was supposedly working.
The premises also housed many enterprises owned by Stemmet, whom police have described as a medicines significant flier. Among the the companies Stemmet ran in the premises have been a hat production firm in addition to a nightclub. Stemmet has been arrested several times for gun and drug-associated offences and served time for armed theft from the eighties.
As outlined by an SMS sent to Meuwese by the investigating officer, Stemmet has now been summonsed to look in court on thirty January 2025.
Even though Stemmet is still for being introduced having a cost sheet, probable costs, include things like fraud, removing of kit that were hooked up from the Sheriff, and interfering by using a Town of Cape City electrical energy meter, As outlined by an electronic mail despatched to Meuwese by a senior prosecutor handling the make a difference.
A grant of almost R13-million to establish the minstrel museum was Section of in excess of R64-million in Lottery resources allotted to your CTMCA concerning 2003 and 2017, with the majority of The cash - about R54.3-million - paid within the 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 financial many years, In accordance with National Lotteries Fee (NLC) annual experiences.
Stemmet was appointed a director on the CTMCA in September 1996 but resigned in December 2016. His spouse Zainonesa and daughter Raziah continued หวย ออก as two of numerous directors of the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed to be a director in 2021.
According to Meuwese, the making was leased to Stalph 164, a close Company of which Stemmet was certainly one of the administrators. The organization was deregistered by the businesses and Mental Home Fee (CIPC) in March 2023 for non-compliance in publishing annual studies.
A new entity Together with the same name was subsequently registered as A non-public company, but with Stemmet no more a director, In accordance with CIPC data. As a substitute, a loved one, Ra’ees Stemmet, and Alfonzo van Niekerk ended up appointed as directors.
Around the night of 12 April 2021 and into the subsequent morning, the Crete Road premises were being cleared as well as machinery was eradicated, In keeping with an affidavit by Meuwese. The tools was moved to new premises rented by Stemmet in Mymoena Crescent within the Athlone industrial space, which housed numerous of Stemmet’s enterprises along with a new “minstrel museum”, As outlined by a leaked investigative report commissioned by the NLC. The investigator also photographed the tools at the new premises.
Even so, the intended new museum internet site, such as aged one in Wetton, was nicely far from any of Cape Town’s vacationer routes and visitors could not access it. There was no signage about the making indicating that it housed a museum.
Stemmet’s enterprises vacated the premises previously this year following he fell ill.
The funding to ascertain a museum wasn't the only real lottery grant the CTMCA received. In 2021, the association was allotted R100,000 and R1.five-million in Covid relief grants. The NLC originally refused to reveal who had gained Covid funding but lastly relented less than media and parliamentary pressure.
Other lottery grants allocated to non-income entities associated with Stemmet and his family members and his associates include things like R1.four-million for the Cape Cultural Carnival and Functions Committee in 2019/20, and an additional R500,000 in 2021/22, In keeping with NLC once-a-year reports. 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, that is registered in the CTMCA’s previous Crete Road places of work, was allocated R190,000 in 2019/twenty, and a further R635,000 in 2021/22 for just a “craft, woodwork and style and design programme”. Even so, it seems that the 2021/22 payment was withheld after the NLC lifted questions about fantastic reports connected with before funding received through the CTMCA.
GroundUp has confirmed which the SIU is investigating the lottery funding been given from the CTMCA.
Also beneath investigation is often a R1-million payment by the CTMCA to MDU Consulting Engineers, which in turn compensated R500,000 of the to legal professionals acting in the purchase of the R27-million mansion for former NLC Board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
MDU also acted as being a conduit for an extra R3-m payment by Zibsimanzi, a corporation wherein the wife of previous NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba was a director, toward the purchase from the mansion. Zibsimanzi been given R4.8-million to phase a rural soccer Match in Limpopo following Letwaba Individually advisable that the grant be paid out to his spouse’s business.
GroundUp despatched queries to Stemmet via SMS but he had not replied by the time of publication.