“Pot” Stemmet faces prices around theft of Lottery-funded gear

“Pot” Stemmet faces prices around theft of Lottery-funded gear

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

Richard “Pot” Stemmet is experiencing prosecution right after tools paid out for with money within the Lottery was faraway from a Cape City making he rented.
Stemmet is to look in courtroom in January.
In line with a prosecutor the legal charges could include fraud, removal of kit that had been hooked up via the Sheriff and interfering with a Town of Cape City electrical energy meter.
The charges stem from a criticism laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who, within a civil court docket make a difference, is looking for to Get well around R2.5-million in unpaid rent, curiosity, authorized expenses and damage to a rented constructing in Crete Street, in the industrial region of Wetton in Cape City.
The developing was Beforehand the headquarters with the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) and is particularly where by a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the town’s centuries-outdated minstrel culture was supposedly running.
Convicted criminal Richard “Pot” Stemmet is experiencing prosecution for theft and fraud right after equipment paid out for with Lottery cash was faraway from a Cape Town constructing.

Stemmet was arrested by the Specialised Industrial Crime Device on sixteen Oct 2024 and told to appear inside the Wynberg Magistrate’s Courtroom on 21 November.

GroundUp attended courtroom to the working day though the make any difference wasn't put on the courtroom roll since the investigating officer did not produce the docket to prosecutors. Stemmet has now been summonsed to look in courtroom in January.

The legal costs stem from the grievance laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who is looking for to Get better in excess of R2.5-million in unpaid lease, interest, lawful fees and harm to a rented constructing in Crete Highway, in the commercial space of Wetton in Cape Town.

The setting up 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 law enforcement have called a medication large flier. Between the companies Stemmet ran with the premises were a hat manufacturing organization in addition to a nightclub. Stemmet continues to be arrested a number of moments for gun and drug-connected offences and served time for armed robbery in the nineteen eighties.

In keeping with an SMS despatched to Meuwese through the investigating officer, Stemmet has now been summonsed to appear in court docket on thirty January 2025.

Even though Stemmet is nevertheless to get presented which has a demand sheet, attainable costs, involve fraud, removal of apparatus that were attached because of the Sheriff, and interfering using a Metropolis of Cape City electrical energy meter, Based on an e-mail sent to Meuwese by a senior prosecutor dealing with the make any difference.

A grant of virtually R13-million to ascertain the minstrel museum was part of greater than R64-million in Lottery money allocated into the CTMCA between 2003 and 2017, with the bulk of The cash - over R54.three-million - paid within the 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 economic yrs, according to Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) annual reports.

Stemmet was appointed a director of your CTMCA in September 1996 but resigned in December 2016. His spouse Zainonesa and daughter Raziah continued สลาก กิน รัฐบาล as two of many directors from the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed to be a director in 2021.

According to Meuwese, the building was leased to Stalph 164, a detailed corporation of which Stemmet was one of the directors. The company was deregistered by the Companies and Intellectual Assets Commission (CIPC) in March 2023 for non-compliance in submitting yearly experiences.

A fresh entity with the exact same name was subsequently registered as A non-public corporation, but with Stemmet no more a director, In keeping with CIPC records. As an alternative, a member of the family, Ra’ees Stemmet, and Alfonzo van Niekerk ended up appointed as directors.

Within the evening of twelve April 2021 and into the next morning, the Crete Highway premises were being cleared as well as equipment was taken out, Based on an affidavit by Meuwese. The equipment was moved to new premises rented by Stemmet in Mymoena Crescent during the Athlone industrial space, which housed various of Stemmet’s companies in addition to a new “minstrel museum”, In line with a leaked investigative report commissioned from the NLC. The investigator also photographed the devices at The brand new premises.

Nevertheless, the supposed new museum web site, such as aged 1 in Wetton, was effectively faraway from any of Cape Town’s tourist routes and site visitors could not obtain it. There was no signage over the making indicating that it housed a museum.

Stemmet’s enterprises vacated the premises before this 12 months right after he fell unwell.

The funding to ascertain a museum was not the only real lottery grant that the CTMCA been given. In 2021, the association was allotted R100,000 and R1.five-million in Covid relief grants. The NLC to begin with refused to expose who had acquired Covid funding but lastly relented beneath media and parliamentary tension.

Other lottery grants allocated to non-financial gain entities associated with Stemmet and his household and his associates involve R1.four-million with the Cape Cultural Carnival and Activities Committee in 2019/20, and a further R500,000 in 2021/22, As outlined by NLC annual reports. Stemmet is really a previous director of the committee and his wife, Zainonesa, is presently a director.

And, the Peninsula and District Carnival Affiliation, which is registered for the CTMCA’s former Crete Highway workplaces, was allotted R190,000 in 2019/20, and an additional R635,000 in 2021/22 to get a “craft, woodwork and structure programme”. On the other hand, it seems that the 2021/22 payment was withheld after the NLC elevated questions on excellent stories related to earlier funding acquired because of the CTMCA.

GroundUp has verified which the SIU is investigating the lottery funding been given by the CTMCA.

Also below investigation can be a R1-million payment because of the CTMCA to MDU Consulting Engineers, which consequently 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 to be a conduit for an additional R3-m payment by Zibsimanzi, a business through which the wife of previous NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba was a director, toward the purchase of the mansion. Zibsimanzi been given R4.8-million to phase a rural soccer Match in Limpopo right after Letwaba Individually encouraged that the grant be paid out to his spouse’s corporation.

GroundUp despatched inquiries to Stemmet by way of SMS but he had not replied by the point of publication.