Richard “Pot” Stemmet, still left, and an investigator appointed because of the National Lotteries Commission to investigate the Lottery-funded minstrel museum: Photo from an investigative report commissioned through the NLC
Richard “Pot” Stemmet is going through prosecution immediately after devices paid out for with funds in the Lottery was faraway from a Cape Town building he rented.
Stemmet is to seem in court in January.
According to a prosecutor the felony costs could include fraud, elimination of apparatus that were attached with the Sheriff and interfering with a City of Cape Town electric power meter.
The fees stem from the complaint laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who, within a civil courtroom subject, is looking for to Get better more than R2.5-million in unpaid rent, curiosity, lawful costs and damage to a rented building in Crete Highway, in the commercial place of Wetton in Cape Town.
The setting up was Earlier the headquarters from the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) and is particularly wherever a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the town’s hundreds of years-outdated minstrel tradition was supposedly working.
Convicted legal Richard “Pot” Stemmet is going through prosecution for theft and fraud immediately after machines paid out for with Lottery cash was removed from a Cape City developing.
Stemmet was arrested by the Specialised Professional Crime Device on sixteen October 2024 and told to look from the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court docket on 21 November.
GroundUp attended court around the day though the issue wasn't placed on the courtroom roll since the investigating officer did not provide the docket to prosecutors. Stemmet has now been summonsed to appear in court docket in January.
The prison rates stem from the complaint laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who's looking for to recover over R2.five-million in unpaid lease, curiosity, lawful expenditures and damage to a rented creating in Crete Highway, in the commercial region of Wetton in Cape City.
The creating was Beforehand the headquarters on the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA). This is where a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating town’s centuries-outdated minstrel society was supposedly working.
The premises also housed quite a few companies owned by Stemmet, whom police have referred to as a prescription drugs high flier. Amongst the businesses Stemmet ran from your premises ended up a hat production organization plus a nightclub. Stemmet has actually been arrested quite a few times for gun and drug-related offences and served time for armed theft inside the 1980s.
According to an SMS despatched to Meuwese from the investigating officer, Stemmet has now been summonsed to look in court on 30 January 2025.
Although Stemmet is nevertheless to become offered with a charge sheet, doable charges, include things like fraud, removing of equipment that had been attached through the Sheriff, and interfering that has a Town of Cape City electricity meter, In accordance with an e-mail sent to Meuwese by a senior prosecutor managing the matter.
A grant of just about R13-million to determine the minstrel museum was Element of in excess of R64-million in Lottery cash allocated to the CTMCA concerning 2003 and 2017, with the bulk of The cash - about R54.3-million - compensated inside the 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 financial yrs, In accordance with Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) yearly experiences.
Stemmet was appointed a director in the CTMCA in September 1996 but resigned in December 2016. His spouse Zainonesa and daughter Raziah ongoing หวย as two of numerous administrators in the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed as a director in 2021.
As outlined by Meuwese, the developing was leased to Stalph 164, an in depth Company of which Stemmet was certainly one of the administrators. The company was deregistered by the Companies and Intellectual Residence Fee (CIPC) in March 2023 for non-compliance in publishing once-a-year reports.
A brand new entity Together with the similar identify was subsequently registered as A personal business, but with Stemmet no longer a director, In accordance with CIPC records. Rather, a family member, Ra’ees Stemmet, and Alfonzo van Niekerk were appointed as administrators.
To the night of 12 April 2021 and into the subsequent morning, the Crete Highway premises ended up cleared plus the machinery was taken off, In line with an affidavit by Meuwese. The gear was moved to new premises rented by Stemmet in Mymoena Crescent during the Athlone industrial location, which housed various of Stemmet’s companies in addition to a new “minstrel museum”, In accordance with a leaked investigative report commissioned via the NLC. The investigator also photographed the gear at the new premises.
On the other hand, the meant new museum web page, just like the old 1 in Wetton, was effectively far from any of Cape Town’s vacationer routes and readers couldn't entry it. There was no signage to the constructing indicating that it housed a museum.
Stemmet’s firms vacated the premises previously this year just after he fell ill.
The funding to determine a museum was not the one lottery grant which the CTMCA acquired. In 2021, the Affiliation was allocated R100,000 and R1.5-million in Covid reduction grants. The NLC at first refused to expose who experienced been given Covid funding but ultimately relented underneath media and parliamentary pressure.
Other lottery grants allocated to non-revenue entities connected to Stemmet and his spouse and children and his associates contain R1.4-million to the Cape Cultural Carnival and Functions Committee in 2019/20, and a further R500,000 in 2021/22, In line with NLC annual reports. Stemmet is actually a former director of the committee and his spouse, Zainonesa, is at the moment a director.
And, the Peninsula and District Carnival Association, which happens to be registered for the CTMCA’s former Crete Street offices, was allocated R190,000 in 2019/twenty, and a further R635,000 in 2021/22 for just a “craft, woodwork and layout programme”. Nevertheless, it seems that the 2021/22 payment was withheld once the NLC raised questions about superb reviews relevant to previously funding gained by the CTMCA.
GroundUp has confirmed that the SIU is investigating the lottery funding obtained with the CTMCA.
Also less than investigation is a R1-million payment by the CTMCA to MDU Consulting Engineers, which in turn compensated R500,000 of this to lawyers performing in the purchase of a R27-million mansion for previous NLC Board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
MDU also acted for a conduit for a further R3-m payment by Zibsimanzi, a company wherein the spouse of former NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba was a director, to the purchase of your mansion. Zibsimanzi gained R4.eight-million to stage a rural soccer Event in Limpopo immediately after Letwaba personally encouraged that the grant be paid out to his spouse’s business.
GroundUp sent thoughts to Stemmet via SMS but he had not replied by the time of publication.