“Pot” Stemmet faces expenses around theft of Lottery-funded tools

“Pot” Stemmet faces expenses around theft of Lottery-funded tools

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Richard “Pot” Stemmet, remaining, and an investigator appointed with the Nationwide Lotteries Commission to analyze the Lottery-funded minstrel museum: Photograph from an investigative report commissioned through the NLC

Richard “Pot” Stemmet is going through prosecution right after equipment paid out for with cash through the Lottery was faraway from a Cape City developing he rented.
Stemmet is to appear in court in January.
According to a prosecutor the legal fees could include fraud, removing of kit that had been hooked up because of the Sheriff and interfering using a City of Cape City electrical power meter.
The charges stem from the criticism laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who, inside of a civil court make any difference, is trying to get to Get well over R2.5-million in unpaid hire, interest, lawful fees and damage to a rented setting up in Crete Road, in the commercial space of Wetton in Cape Town.
The making was Earlier the headquarters of the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) and is also where a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the city’s generations-aged minstrel culture was supposedly operating.
Convicted criminal Richard “Pot” Stemmet is going through prosecution for theft and fraud after gear paid out for with Lottery funds was faraway from a Cape City developing.

Stemmet was arrested through the Specialised Industrial Crime Unit on sixteen October 2024 and told to seem while in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court docket on 21 November.

GroundUp attended court over the day though the issue was not placed on the court roll since the investigating officer did not provide the docket to prosecutors. Stemmet has now been summonsed to appear in court in January.

The criminal fees stem from the criticism laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who is searching for to Get better above R2.5-million in unpaid rent, curiosity, authorized costs and damage to a rented making in Crete Street, in the industrial area of Wetton in Cape City.

The developing 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-aged minstrel tradition was supposedly operating.

The premises also housed many corporations owned by Stemmet, whom law enforcement have described as a medicine large flier. Among the companies Stemmet ran from your premises were a hat production business in addition to a nightclub. Stemmet has been arrested many occasions for gun and drug-connected offences and served time for armed robbery during the nineteen eighties.

In line with an SMS despatched to Meuwese from the investigating officer, Stemmet has now been summonsed to seem in courtroom on 30 January 2025.

While Stemmet is nonetheless to be introduced having a demand sheet, achievable expenses, incorporate fraud, elimination of equipment that were attached from the Sheriff, and interfering which has a City of Cape City electrical energy meter, Based on an electronic mail sent to Meuwese by a senior prosecutor dealing with the matter.

A grant of just about R13-million to establish the minstrel museum was part of a lot more than R64-million in Lottery resources allocated into the CTMCA amongst 2003 and 2017, with the majority of the money - above R54.3-million - compensated inside the 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 economical decades, according to Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) once-a-year studies.

Stemmet was appointed a director from the CTMCA in September 1996 but resigned in December 2016. His spouse Zainonesa and daughter Raziah ongoing ตรวจ สลากกินแบ่ง รัฐบาล as two of numerous directors with the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed being a director in 2021.

In line with Meuwese, the creating 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 Commission (CIPC) in March 2023 for non-compliance in publishing once-a-year studies.

A brand new entity Along with the exact same title was subsequently registered as A non-public enterprise, but with Stemmet no longer a director, In keeping with CIPC records. As a substitute, a family member, Ra’ees Stemmet, and Alfonzo van Niekerk had been appointed as administrators.

On the night of 12 April 2021 and into the following morning, the Crete Highway premises ended up cleared as well as equipment was eliminated, Based on an affidavit by Meuwese. The machines was moved to new premises rented by Stemmet in Mymoena Crescent inside the Athlone industrial space, which housed many of Stemmet’s companies in addition to a new “minstrel museum”, In accordance with a leaked investigative report commissioned by the NLC. The investigator also photographed the products at The brand new premises.

Nevertheless, the supposed new museum web site, similar to the outdated a person in Wetton, was well far from any of Cape City’s vacationer routes and website visitors could not accessibility it. There was no signage within the constructing indicating that it housed a museum.

Stemmet’s organizations vacated the premises earlier this year after he fell sick.

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.five-million in Covid relief grants. The NLC in the beginning refused to reveal who experienced received Covid funding but eventually relented beneath media and parliamentary tension.

Other lottery grants allocated to non-income entities associated with Stemmet and his loved ones and his associates include things like R1.four-million with the Cape Cultural Carnival and Activities Committee in 2019/20, and an additional R500,000 in 2021/22, In keeping with NLC once-a-year experiences. Stemmet is actually a former director of the committee and his spouse, Zainonesa, is at this time a director.

And, the Peninsula and District Carnival Association, which can be 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 layout programme”. Even so, it seems that the 2021/22 payment was withheld following the NLC elevated questions about superb reviews related to previously funding gained with the CTMCA.

GroundUp has verified that the SIU is investigating the lottery funding obtained with the CTMCA.

Also less than investigation is really a R1-million payment from the CTMCA to MDU Consulting Engineers, which in turn paid R500,000 of the to legal professionals performing in the purchase of a R27-million mansion for previous NLC Board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.

MDU also acted to be a conduit for an extra R3-m payment by Zibsimanzi, a firm through which the wife of previous NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba was a director, in direction of the purchase with the mansion. Zibsimanzi obtained R4.eight-million to stage a rural soccer Match in Limpopo following Letwaba Individually suggested which the grant be paid to his wife’s business.

GroundUp sent thoughts to Stemmet through SMS but he experienced not replied by the point of publication.