Richard “Pot” Stemmet, left, and an investigator appointed via the National Lotteries Commission to analyze the Lottery-funded minstrel museum: Image from an investigative report commissioned because of the NLC

Richard “Pot” Stemmet is going through prosecution soon after equipment paid for with money in the Lottery was removed from a Cape Town making he rented.
Stemmet is to look in court in January.
Based on a prosecutor the criminal charges could contain fraud, removal of kit that were connected because of the Sheriff and interfering using a Town of Cape City energy meter.
The fees stem from the complaint laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who, within a civil court issue, is seeking to Get well around R2.5-million in unpaid hire, curiosity, authorized fees and harm to a rented making in Crete Highway, in the commercial location of Wetton in Cape City.
The setting up was Formerly the headquarters on the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) and is the place a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating town’s generations-aged minstrel society was supposedly functioning.
Convicted felony Richard “Pot” Stemmet is dealing with prosecution for theft and fraud immediately after gear paid for with Lottery resources was removed from a Cape Town developing.

Stemmet was arrested from the Specialised Commercial Criminal offense Device on 16 October 2024 and told to appear within the Wynberg Justice of the peace’s Court on 21 November.

GroundUp attended courtroom within the day but the matter was not placed on the courtroom roll as the investigating officer didn't produce the docket to prosecutors. Stemmet has now been summonsed to look in court docket in January.

The criminal fees stem from the criticism laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, that's trying to find to Get better around R2.five-million in unpaid hire, fascination, authorized fees and damage to a rented developing in Crete Highway, in the economic space of Wetton in Cape City.

The constructing was previously the headquarters of your Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA). This is when a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the town’s centuries-aged minstrel lifestyle was supposedly running.

The premises also housed quite a few businesses owned by Stemmet, whom law enforcement have described as a prescription drugs large flier. Among the businesses Stemmet ran with the premises were a hat manufacturing business as well as a nightclub. Stemmet has become arrested various moments for gun and drug-relevant offences and served time for armed robbery within the nineteen eighties.

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

Whilst Stemmet is still to get introduced using a demand sheet, achievable rates, incorporate fraud, removing of equipment that were attached from the Sheriff, and interfering which has a City of Cape Town electrical power meter, according to an e-mail sent to Meuwese by a senior prosecutor dealing with the subject.

A grant of virtually R13-million to ascertain the minstrel museum was Section of in excess of R64-million in Lottery money allocated for the CTMCA among 2003 and 2017, with the majority of the money - in excess of R54.3-million - paid during the 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 money a long time, In accordance with Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) once-a-year reports.

Stemmet was appointed a director of your CTMCA in September 1996 but resigned in December 2016. His wife Zainonesa and daughter Raziah continued ตรวจ หวย as two of various directors of your organisation. Stemmet was reappointed being a director in 2021.

Based on Meuwese, the making was leased to Stalph 164, a close corporation of which Stemmet was one among the administrators. The organization was deregistered by the businesses and Mental Residence Fee (CIPC) in March 2023 for non-compliance in submitting annual reviews.

A completely new entity Using the identical name was subsequently registered as a private business, but with Stemmet no longer a director, according to CIPC documents. In its place, a relative, Ra’ees Stemmet, and Alfonzo van Niekerk were being appointed as administrators.

To the evening of 12 April 2021 and into the next morning, the Crete Street premises were cleared as well as machinery was eradicated, In line with an affidavit by Meuwese. The gear was moved to new premises rented by Stemmet in Mymoena Crescent from the Athlone industrial location, which housed various of Stemmet’s organizations and also a new “minstrel museum”, according to a leaked investigative report commissioned through the NLC. The investigator also photographed the products at the new premises.

On the other hand, the meant new museum web page, such as the previous a single in Wetton, was properly from any of Cape Town’s vacationer routes and readers couldn't entry it. There was no signage to 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 establish a museum was not the only lottery grant the CTMCA received. In 2021, the Affiliation was allocated R100,000 and R1.five-million in Covid aid grants. The NLC to begin with refused to expose who experienced obtained Covid funding but eventually relented under media and parliamentary strain.

Other lottery grants allotted to non-gain entities linked to Stemmet and his family members and his associates incorporate R1.4-million for that Cape Cultural Carnival and Situations Committee in 2019/twenty, and an additional R500,000 in 2021/22, according to NLC once-a-year experiences. Stemmet is a previous director in the committee and his spouse, Zainonesa, is now a director.

And, the Peninsula and District Carnival Affiliation, which can be registered in the CTMCA’s previous Crete Road workplaces, was allotted R190,000 in 2019/20, and an extra R635,000 in 2021/22 for the “craft, woodwork and style programme”. Nevertheless, it appears that the 2021/22 payment was withheld once the NLC lifted questions on exceptional stories associated with 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 is actually a R1-million payment because of the CTMCA to MDU Consulting Engineers, which subsequently compensated R500,000 of this to lawyers performing in the acquisition of a R27-million mansion for previous NLC Board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.

MDU also acted being a conduit for an additional R3-m payment by Zibsimanzi, an organization by which the spouse of former NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba was a director, towards the acquisition from the mansion. Zibsimanzi been given R4.8-million to stage a rural soccer Event in Limpopo immediately after Letwaba personally advisable which the grant be paid to his wife’s enterprise.

GroundUp despatched queries to Stemmet by means of SMS but he experienced not replied by the time of publication.