“Pot” Stemmet faces expenses above theft of Lottery-funded machines
“Pot” Stemmet faces expenses above theft of Lottery-funded machines
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Richard “Pot” Stemmet, still left, and an investigator appointed by the National Lotteries Fee to research the Lottery-funded minstrel museum: Photo from an investigative report commissioned with the NLC
Richard “Pot” Stemmet is facing prosecution soon after devices compensated for with funds with the Lottery was faraway from a Cape City setting up he rented.
Stemmet is to look in court docket in January.
In line with a prosecutor the felony charges could consist of fraud, removing of apparatus that had been hooked up by the Sheriff and interfering having a Town of Cape Town electricity meter.
The costs stem from the complaint laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who, in a civil courtroom make any difference, is in search of to Get better more than R2.5-million in unpaid lease, fascination, authorized expenditures and harm to a rented building in Crete Road, in the industrial location of Wetton in Cape Town.
The developing was previously the headquarters from the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) and is particularly where by a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating town’s hundreds of years-previous minstrel culture was supposedly functioning.
Convicted legal Richard “Pot” Stemmet is facing prosecution for theft and fraud after devices paid for with Lottery cash was faraway from a Cape Town building.
Stemmet was arrested because of the Specialised Commercial Crime Unit on 16 Oct 2024 and advised to look inside the Wynberg Justice of the peace’s Court on 21 November.
GroundUp attended courtroom within the working day even so the make a difference wasn't placed on the courtroom roll as the investigating officer did not provide the docket to prosecutors. Stemmet has now been summonsed to look in court in January.
The legal prices stem from the complaint laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who's trying to get to recover above R2.5-million in unpaid lease, fascination, authorized prices and harm to a rented building in Crete Road, in the industrial region of Wetton in Cape Town.
The building was previously the headquarters of the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA). This is where a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the city’s generations-outdated minstrel tradition was supposedly operating.
The premises also housed quite a few enterprises owned by Stemmet, whom police have described as a prescription drugs substantial flier. Amongst the companies Stemmet ran through the premises were a hat production company and also a nightclub. Stemmet continues to be arrested various occasions for gun and drug-relevant offences and served time for armed theft in the 1980s.
In line with an SMS despatched to Meuwese via the investigating officer, Stemmet has now been summonsed to look in court docket on thirty January 2025.
Whilst Stemmet is yet to be introduced which has a demand sheet, doable prices, incorporate fraud, elimination of equipment that were attached by the Sheriff, and interfering which has a Metropolis of Cape City electric power meter, In line with an email sent to Meuwese by a senior prosecutor managing the make a difference.
A grant of just about R13-million to establish the minstrel museum was Section of greater than R64-million in Lottery cash allotted to the CTMCA concerning 2003 and 2017, with the bulk of The cash - above R54.three-million - paid out in the 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 fiscal many years, As outlined by National Lotteries Commission (NLC) yearly stories.
Stemmet was appointed a director of the CTMCA in September 1996 but resigned in December 2016. His wife Zainonesa and daughter Raziah continued ตรวจ หวย as two of a number of administrators from the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed to be a director in 2021.
In line with Meuwese, the building was leased to Stalph 164, a close corporation of which Stemmet was amongst the directors. The organization was deregistered by the Companies and Intellectual Residence Fee (CIPC) in March 2023 for non-compliance in publishing once-a-year experiences.
A new entity With all the identical name was subsequently registered as a private company, but with Stemmet now not a director, In keeping with CIPC data. As a substitute, a member of the family, Ra’ees Stemmet, and Alfonzo van Niekerk had been appointed as administrators.
Within the evening of 12 April 2021 and into the next early morning, the Crete Highway premises had been cleared as well as machinery was taken off, In accordance with an affidavit by Meuwese. The machines was moved to new premises rented by Stemmet in Mymoena Crescent inside the Athlone industrial place, which housed a number of of Stemmet’s firms in addition to a new “minstrel museum”, Based on a leaked investigative report commissioned through the NLC. The investigator also photographed the devices at The brand new premises.
On the other hand, the intended new museum internet site, much like the old a person in Wetton, was properly far from any of Cape City’s vacationer routes and website visitors couldn't obtain it. There was no signage about the constructing indicating that it housed a museum.
Stemmet’s organizations vacated the premises before this yr after he fell sick.
The funding to determine a museum was not the one lottery grant which the CTMCA obtained. In 2021, the Affiliation was allotted R100,000 and R1.five-million in Covid relief grants. The NLC originally refused to expose who experienced been given Covid funding but ultimately relented beneath media and parliamentary tension.
Other lottery grants allotted to non-profit entities linked to Stemmet and his loved ones and his associates incorporate R1.four-million to the Cape Cultural Carnival and Functions Committee in 2019/20, and a further R500,000 in 2021/22, Based on NLC annual experiences. Stemmet is often a former director with the committee and his wife, Zainonesa, is at this time a director.
And, the Peninsula and District Carnival Association, that's registered at the CTMCA’s former Crete Street places of work, was allotted R190,000 in 2019/20, and a further R635,000 in 2021/22 for your “craft, woodwork and design and style programme”. Nevertheless, it appears that the 2021/22 payment was withheld after the NLC elevated questions about superb studies related to earlier funding acquired via the CTMCA.
GroundUp has verified which the SIU is investigating the lottery funding received through the CTMCA.
Also below investigation is often a R1-million payment via the CTMCA to MDU Consulting Engineers, which subsequently paid out R500,000 of this to legal professionals performing in the acquisition 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 business where the wife of previous NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba was a director, in direction of the purchase with the mansion. Zibsimanzi acquired R4.8-million to stage a rural soccer Event in Limpopo immediately after Letwaba personally proposed that the grant be compensated to his wife’s corporation.
GroundUp sent questions to Stemmet by using SMS but he had not replied by the time of publication.