“Pot” Stemmet faces rates more than theft of Lottery-funded products
“Pot” Stemmet faces rates more than theft of Lottery-funded products
Blog Article
Richard “Pot” Stemmet, left, and an investigator appointed because of the Nationwide Lotteries Commission to analyze the Lottery-funded minstrel museum: Photo from an investigative report commissioned with the NLC
Richard “Pot” Stemmet is struggling with prosecution soon after devices paid for with resources from the Lottery was faraway from a Cape Town developing he rented.
Stemmet is to look in courtroom in January.
In accordance with a prosecutor the criminal rates could include things like fraud, removal of apparatus that were attached via the Sheriff and interfering using a City of Cape City electrical power meter.
The charges stem from a grievance laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who, inside a civil courtroom make any difference, is searching for to Get well over R2.5-million in unpaid lease, fascination, lawful prices and harm to a rented building in Crete Road, in the economic region of Wetton in Cape City.
The constructing was previously the headquarters in the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) which is where by a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the town’s hundreds of years-old minstrel society was supposedly running.
Convicted criminal Richard “Pot” Stemmet is struggling with prosecution for theft and fraud immediately after gear paid out for with Lottery resources was faraway from a Cape Town setting up.
Stemmet was arrested with the Specialised Commercial Criminal offense Unit on 16 Oct 2024 and advised to look inside the Wynberg Justice of the peace’s Court docket on 21 November.
GroundUp attended court docket about the working day even so the make a difference was not put on the court docket roll because the investigating officer did not deliver the docket to prosecutors. Stemmet has now been summonsed to appear in court in January.
The prison expenses stem from a complaint laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who's searching for to Recuperate above R2.5-million in unpaid lease, curiosity, authorized expenses and harm to a rented building in Crete Highway, in the economic region of Wetton in Cape Town.
The setting up was Earlier the headquarters with the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA). This is when a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the town’s hundreds of years-aged minstrel lifestyle was supposedly running.
The premises also housed many companies owned by Stemmet, whom law enforcement have described as a medicine higher flier. Among the the businesses Stemmet ran within the premises ended up a hat producing corporation and a nightclub. Stemmet has been arrested various occasions for gun and drug-relevant offences and served time for armed theft inside the nineteen eighties.
In line with an SMS sent to Meuwese via the investigating officer, Stemmet has now been summonsed to look in court docket on thirty January 2025.
Even though Stemmet is nevertheless being offered with a cost sheet, probable rates, include fraud, elimination of equipment that were hooked up because of the Sheriff, and interfering using a Town of Cape Town electricity meter, according to an e mail despatched to Meuwese by a senior prosecutor managing the issue.
A grant of almost R13-million to establish the minstrel museum was Element of a lot more than R64-million in Lottery cash allotted into the CTMCA between 2003 and 2017, with the bulk of the money - about R54.3-million - compensated within the 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 economical years, Based on Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) yearly studies.
Stemmet was appointed a director of the CTMCA in September 1996 but resigned in December 2016. His spouse Zainonesa and daughter Raziah continued lottovip as two of several administrators from the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed to be a director in 2021.
In keeping with Meuwese, the making was leased to Stalph 164, a close corporation of which Stemmet was certainly one of the administrators. The corporate was deregistered by the businesses and Intellectual Home Commission (CIPC) in March 2023 for non-compliance in publishing once-a-year studies.
A completely new entity Along with the exact same name was subsequently registered as A non-public corporation, but with Stemmet now not a director, Based on CIPC information. In its place, a relative, Ra’ees Stemmet, and Alfonzo van Niekerk were being appointed as administrators.
Within the night of twelve April 2021 and into the following early morning, the Crete Street premises were cleared as well as machinery was eliminated, Based on an affidavit by Meuwese. The equipment was moved to new premises rented by Stemmet in Mymoena Crescent from the Athlone industrial region, which housed quite a few of Stemmet’s organizations along with a new “minstrel museum”, As outlined by a leaked investigative report commissioned from the NLC. The investigator also photographed the products at The brand new premises.
However, the supposed new museum website, such as the previous one particular in Wetton, was properly from any of Cape Town’s tourist routes and visitors couldn't entry it. There was no signage about the making indicating that it housed a museum.
Stemmet’s firms vacated the premises earlier this calendar year immediately 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.five-million in Covid aid grants. The NLC at first refused to expose who experienced received Covid funding but last but not least relented underneath media and parliamentary tension.
Other lottery grants allocated to non-earnings entities connected to Stemmet and his spouse and children and his associates include R1.four-million for the Cape Cultural Carnival and Activities Committee in 2019/twenty, and an additional R500,000 in 2021/22, according to NLC annual reviews. 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 at the CTMCA’s previous Crete Street places of work, was allocated R190,000 in 2019/twenty, and a further R635,000 in 2021/22 for your “craft, woodwork and style programme”. Having said that, it appears that the 2021/22 payment was withheld following the NLC lifted questions about exceptional stories associated with previously funding gained by the CTMCA.
GroundUp has confirmed which the SIU is investigating the lottery funding obtained with the CTMCA.
Also underneath investigation is a R1-million payment from the CTMCA to MDU Consulting Engineers, which in turn paid R500,000 of this to legal professionals performing in the purchase of the R27-million mansion for previous NLC Board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
MDU also acted being a conduit for a further R3-m payment by Zibsimanzi, a company by which the spouse of previous NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba was a director, in direction of the purchase of the mansion. Zibsimanzi been given R4.8-million to phase a rural soccer tournament in Limpopo immediately after Letwaba personally recommended the grant be paid to his wife’s enterprise.
GroundUp sent inquiries to Stemmet by using SMS but he had not replied by the time of publication.