“Pot” Stemmet faces fees about theft of Lottery-funded gear
“Pot” Stemmet faces fees about theft of Lottery-funded gear
Blog Article
Richard “Pot” Stemmet, still left, and an investigator appointed with the National Lotteries Fee to investigate the Lottery-funded minstrel museum: Photograph from an investigative report commissioned from the NLC
Richard “Pot” Stemmet is facing prosecution just after equipment paid for with funds from your Lottery was removed from a Cape City setting up he rented.
Stemmet is to look in courtroom in January.
In accordance with a prosecutor the criminal rates could involve fraud, removal of apparatus that had been connected through the Sheriff and interfering with a Metropolis of Cape Town energy meter.
The costs stem from the complaint laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who, in a very civil court make any difference, is in search of to Get better more than R2.5-million in unpaid lease, interest, authorized prices and damage to a rented setting up in Crete Highway, in the commercial place of Wetton in Cape Town.
The setting up was previously the headquarters of your Cape City Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) and it is the place a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the city’s generations-previous minstrel society was supposedly working.
Convicted prison Richard “Pot” Stemmet is going through prosecution for theft and fraud following devices paid for with Lottery money was removed from a Cape City building.
Stemmet was arrested through the Specialised Business Criminal offense Device on sixteen Oct 2024 and explained to to appear within the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on 21 November.
GroundUp attended court within the working day though the make any difference wasn't placed on the court roll because the investigating officer didn't supply the docket to prosecutors. Stemmet has now been summonsed to appear in court docket in January.
The felony fees stem from a complaint laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, that's trying to get to Get better around R2.5-million in unpaid lease, interest, legal expenses and damage to a rented making in Crete Highway, in the industrial spot of Wetton in Cape Town.
The making was Beforehand the headquarters on the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA). This is where a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating town’s generations-outdated minstrel tradition was supposedly functioning.
The premises also housed various corporations owned by Stemmet, whom police have described as a drugs significant flier. Among the companies Stemmet ran from your premises were a hat manufacturing firm and a nightclub. Stemmet is arrested several instances for gun and drug-connected offences and served time for armed robbery inside the eighties.
As outlined by an SMS sent to Meuwese with the investigating officer, Stemmet has now been summonsed to appear in court docket on 30 January 2025.
Whilst Stemmet is yet to generally be offered using a cost sheet, doable prices, include things like fraud, removal of kit that had been hooked up through the Sheriff, and interfering which has a Metropolis of Cape Town electricity meter, In keeping with an e-mail despatched to Meuwese by a senior prosecutor handling the make any difference.
A grant of almost R13-million to establish the minstrel museum was Section of in excess of R64-million in Lottery cash allocated into the CTMCA concerning 2003 and 2017, with the majority of The cash - above R54.3-million - paid out from the 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 money yrs, Based on Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) annual reviews.
Stemmet was appointed a director from the CTMCA in September 1996 but resigned in December 2016. His spouse Zainonesa and daughter Raziah continued หวย as two of quite a few directors from the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed to be a director in 2021.
As outlined by Meuwese, the developing was leased to Stalph 164, an in depth Company of which Stemmet was one of the directors. The corporation was deregistered by the Companies and Intellectual Residence Fee (CIPC) in March 2023 for non-compliance in publishing annual studies.
A completely new entity With all the same name was subsequently registered as a private organization, but with Stemmet not a director, In keeping with CIPC documents. In its place, a relative, Ra’ees Stemmet, and Alfonzo van Niekerk were being appointed as administrators.
About the night of 12 April 2021 and into the following early morning, the Crete Road premises had been cleared and the equipment was removed, In keeping with an affidavit by Meuwese. The products was moved to new premises rented by Stemmet in Mymoena Crescent in the Athlone industrial place, which housed a number of of Stemmet’s corporations along with a new “minstrel museum”, In keeping with a leaked investigative report commissioned from the NLC. The investigator also photographed the devices at the new premises.
Nonetheless, the intended new museum web-site, such as aged 1 in Wetton, was effectively far from any of Cape Town’s vacationer routes and guests could not access it. There was no signage on the setting up indicating that it housed a museum.
Stemmet’s corporations vacated the premises previously this calendar year soon after he fell ill.
The funding to ascertain a museum wasn't the sole lottery grant the CTMCA received. In 2021, the association was allocated R100,000 and R1.five-million in Covid aid grants. The NLC at first refused to expose who had gained Covid funding but lastly relented underneath media and parliamentary pressure.
Other lottery grants allocated to non-financial gain entities associated with Stemmet and his loved ones and his associates incorporate R1.four-million for that Cape Cultural Carnival and Events Committee in 2019/twenty, and an extra R500,000 in 2021/22, Based on NLC once-a-year stories. Stemmet can be a former director of the committee and his spouse, Zainonesa, is at present a director.
And, the Peninsula and District Carnival Affiliation, that's registered in the CTMCA’s previous Crete Road workplaces, was allotted R190,000 in 2019/20, and an extra R635,000 in 2021/22 for any “craft, woodwork and structure programme”. Even so, it seems that the 2021/22 payment was withheld once the NLC raised questions about remarkable reports linked to previously funding gained because of the CTMCA.
GroundUp has verified which the SIU is investigating the lottery funding been given by the CTMCA.
Also under investigation is actually a R1-million payment from the CTMCA to MDU Consulting Engineers, which in turn compensated R500,000 of the to lawyers acting in the acquisition of a R27-million mansion for previous NLC Board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
MDU also acted for a conduit for an additional R3-m payment by Zibsimanzi, an organization in which the spouse of previous NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba was a director, in direction of the acquisition on the mansion. Zibsimanzi received R4.8-million to phase a rural soccer tournament in Limpopo soon after Letwaba Individually advised the grant be compensated to his spouse’s organization.
GroundUp despatched thoughts to Stemmet via SMS but he had not replied by the time of publication.