A young woman has shocked Capetonians by publicly accusing her well-known grandfather and his brother, who are both former high school principals, of sexually abusing her and many other women over five decades.
The woman, believed to be in her mid-20s, posted a 15-minute long video on YouTube on Wednesday morning which quickly went viral. By Thursday morning the video had over 30 000 views.
The 85-year-old twins, Gasant and Goosain Emeran, who are well-respected in their Muslim Bo-Kaap community, have not commented on the allegations yet.
According to his son, Gasant - the alleged victim’s oupa - has cancer, while Goosain told the Daily Voice he was not aware of the video.
Goosain is the longest serving principal - 30 years - of Trafalgar High School and retired in 1995, while his brother Gasant was the head of Oaklands High School.
The brothers were renowned education activists during apartheid.
The video is titled “Exposing Paedophilia by Community Leaders in Cape Town”.
In the clip, with only her shoulders and the bottom half of her face revealed, the young woman details years of alleged abuse.
“I was sexually abused by my paternal grandfather Gasant Emeran and his twin brother Goosain is also a child molester,” she says
“They have abused girls for decades.
“I have spoken to many women who have been abused by these men.
“I was five when the abuse started. They abuse girls in their families.
“I know it’s hard for people to believe it because of who they are and how well they’re respected, the things they’ve done for the community... maybe they’ve helped you, they’ve helped your children with their education.”
She says although her grandfather was confronted, he was never held accountable.
“Whenever I would talk about it, I was told to get over it, it’s in the past, that they’re old and they’re going to die soon.
“They’re 85 years old now.
“It’s been decades and nothing has ever been done.
“I’m asking you not to have your kids tutored by them and not visit them.
She also gave disturbing details of the alleged attacks.
“I would be pinned to the bed and he would hold my wrists above my head and his knees would be pushing into my thighs so I couldn’t move.
“He would say things like ‘let’s kiss like they do in the movies’... he locked me in the garage... I’ve woken up without underwear.
“I wish I could have done something sooner... I’m doing this so that it stops.”
The woman and her family moved to Qatar when she was 11 years old.
When the Daily Voice visited the Bo-Kaap home of Goosain, he refused to open, but shouted from a window: “It’s Covid, I’m not coming outside, what do you want?”
Asked about the video, he claimed he was not aware of it.
At the home of Gasant, the young woman’s father answered the door and said they were aware of the allegations.
The father said his daughter is currently living in Jordan with her husband and is refusing to speak to him.
“No comment, my dad is sleeping, we have seen the video, we are not going to comment on it. It is my daughter, it’s shocking.
“Please respect my privacy. I don’t want to discuss it with the world, not now.
“I can’t say what I’m gonna do yet, my daughter is in Jordan.
“I can’t comment on what she is saying because she isn’t talking to me, I don’t know why.
“My father (Gasant) is very sick, he has cancer. My father won’t respond very soon.”
The woman’s mother said she had to discuss the matter with her children before she could comment.
She said her daughter is refusing to make any more statements at this stage and asked not to be identified yet.
Asked if she would be laying charges, the mother said: “As she is not in the country, I doubt it very much, but not ruling it out.”
The woman’s brother shared a link of the YouTube video on his Facebook page saying: “The reason for this post is to make people aware of the risk that my grandfather and his twin brother, Goosain Emeran, pose to children.”
Commenting on the video, a woman believed to be a relative, Koelsum Emeran, said: “We are so shocked we are still trying to process it. May Allah make it easy on you.”
A neighbour of the Emerans in Bo-Kaap says the family is torn apart, but things are “still going to get ugly”.
“The reason why her accent is like that is because they grew up in Qatar.
“She was in Standard 3 when they moved to Qatar, her daddy knew what happened to her and that’s why he moved with the children.
“A lot has come out now since that video went live on YouTube. Things are still going to get very ugly.”
venecia.america@inl.co.za
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za