Richard “Pot” Stemmet, remaining, and an investigator appointed with the National Lotteries Commission to investigate the Lottery-funded minstrel museum: Photograph from an investigative report commissioned through the NLC
Richard “Pot” Stemmet is experiencing prosecution after equipment compensated for with cash through the Lottery was removed from a Cape City creating he rented.
Stemmet is to appear in courtroom in January.
In line with a prosecutor the criminal rates could include things like fraud, removal of apparatus that were attached with the Sheriff and interfering having a Metropolis of Cape City electricity meter.
The charges stem from a grievance laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who, inside of a civil court make a difference, is in search of to Get well around R2.five-million in unpaid hire, fascination, authorized expenditures and harm to a rented constructing in Crete Street, in the industrial location of Wetton in Cape Town.
The building was Beforehand the headquarters with the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) which is the place a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the city’s hundreds of years-old minstrel lifestyle was supposedly working.
Convicted prison Richard “Pot” Stemmet is dealing with prosecution for theft and fraud after products compensated for with Lottery money was removed from a Cape City setting up.
Stemmet was arrested through the Specialised Business Criminal offense Device on sixteen Oct 2024 and told to appear while in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Courtroom on 21 November.
GroundUp attended court docket over the day nevertheless the matter wasn't placed on the court docket roll as the investigating officer did not supply the docket to prosecutors. Stemmet has now been summonsed to look in court docket in January.
The criminal prices stem from the complaint laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, that is looking for to recover more than R2.five-million in unpaid lease, curiosity, lawful prices and harm to a rented constructing in Crete Street, in the commercial place of Wetton in Cape City.
The making was Formerly the headquarters from the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA). This is when a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the town’s centuries-outdated minstrel culture was supposedly functioning.
The premises also housed various organizations owned by Stemmet, whom law enforcement have called a medicine significant flier. Among the businesses Stemmet ran with the premises were being a hat production enterprise plus a nightclub. Stemmet has been arrested a number of moments for gun and drug-relevant offences and served time for armed robbery inside the eighties.
In line with an SMS despatched to Meuwese because of the investigating officer, Stemmet has now been summonsed to seem in court on thirty January 2025.
Even though Stemmet is nonetheless to generally be offered using a demand sheet, doable prices, incorporate fraud, removing of apparatus that were hooked up with the Sheriff, and interfering having a Metropolis of Cape City electrical power meter, In accordance with an e mail despatched to Meuwese by a senior prosecutor dealing with the make any difference.
A grant of just about R13-million to ascertain the minstrel museum was Element of a lot more than R64-million in Lottery cash allocated to your CTMCA involving 2003 and 2017, with the majority of The cash - over R54.3-million - compensated in the 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 financial 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 continued ตรวจ หวย ผล สลากกินแบ่ง รัฐบาล งวด as two of a number of directors of the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed as a director in 2021.
According to Meuwese, the setting up was leased to Stalph 164, an in depth Company of which Stemmet was amongst the directors. The corporation was deregistered by the Companies and Mental House Commission (CIPC) in March 2023 for non-compliance in submitting once-a-year studies.
A whole new entity Using the exact title was subsequently registered as A personal firm, but with Stemmet now not a director, In line with CIPC documents. As an alternative, a relative, Ra’ees Stemmet, and Alfonzo van Niekerk were appointed as directors.
Within the evening of 12 April 2021 and into the subsequent early morning, the Crete Street premises have been cleared plus the machinery was eliminated, In line with an affidavit by Meuwese. The gear was moved to new premises rented by Stemmet in Mymoena Crescent inside the Athlone industrial region, which housed several of Stemmet’s enterprises plus a new “minstrel museum”, Based on a leaked investigative report commissioned via the NLC. The investigator also photographed the tools at The brand new premises.
However, the intended new museum web page, just like the previous just one in Wetton, was well from any of Cape Town’s tourist routes and guests could not obtain it. There was no signage to the making indicating that it housed a museum.
Stemmet’s businesses vacated the premises before this yr after he fell sick.
The funding to establish a museum wasn't the only lottery grant the CTMCA obtained. In 2021, the Affiliation was allotted R100,000 and R1.5-million in Covid aid grants. The NLC to begin with refused to reveal who experienced obtained Covid funding but at last relented below media and parliamentary pressure.
Other lottery grants allocated to non-financial gain entities linked to Stemmet and his relatives and his associates include R1.4-million for your Cape Cultural Carnival and Functions Committee in 2019/twenty, and a further R500,000 in 2021/22, In accordance with NLC annual reviews. Stemmet is actually a former director from the committee and his spouse, Zainonesa, is at this time a director.
And, the Peninsula and District Carnival Association, which can be registered on the CTMCA’s former Crete Highway workplaces, was allotted R190,000 in 2019/20, and an extra R635,000 in 2021/22 for just a “craft, woodwork and layout programme”. Nonetheless, it seems that the 2021/22 payment was withheld following the NLC elevated questions about remarkable reviews related to previously funding received because of the CTMCA.
GroundUp has verified that the SIU is investigating the lottery funding gained from the CTMCA.
Also beneath investigation is usually a R1-million payment through the CTMCA to MDU Consulting Engineers, which consequently compensated R500,000 of the to attorneys acting in the purchase of a R27-million mansion for previous NLC Board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
MDU also acted as a conduit for a further R3-m payment by Zibsimanzi, an organization by which the spouse of former NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba was a director, in the direction of the acquisition in the mansion. Zibsimanzi obtained R4.eight-million to stage a rural soccer Match in Limpopo after Letwaba personally suggested the grant be paid to his wife’s enterprise.
GroundUp sent inquiries to Stemmet via SMS but he had not replied by the time of publication.