-Another Version
By Wleh Bedell, a Liberian sport analyst
MONROVIA – News filtering on social media that a lady named Nancy Pyne indicated on a local radio station in Liberia that she is the biological mother of Ivorian international and Barcelona football club midfielder Franck Kessie has been termed as untrue by Ivorian football administrator and West African Football Union ( WAFU) coordinator, Gustave Bailly who is in Abidjan.
In a chat with Mr. Bailly on Wednesday via social media, as we have been friends through this medium for close to three years now, the football administrator said the story in Liberia about a lady claiming to be the mother of Franck Kessie is untrue. “Look, this needs to stop. “ That story is untrue”. He further noted that player Kessie is his nephew and that the player was 12 years old when his father died and he took him.
“Kessie was 12 years old when his father died, so I took him, ensured he went to school, I coached him and when the Ivorian war came, we left Gangnoa for Abidjan which is 300 kilometers away from Abidjan,” Gustave noted.
He further narrated that the player’s biological mother’s name is Djedje Nathalie whose Facebook link he forwarded to me and further said that Kessie has three brothers who are older than him and are in Abidjan. “ They never went to school, did not play football, and are a liability to him, Kessie”, Mr. Bailly opined. He also said the player’s mother Nathalie is residing in Abidjan.
“ I took him (Kessie) to Stella Football club, then he was invited by Atalanta Bergoma in Italy, then to Cesena also in Italy, then AC Milan, and now Barcelona. “He has no link to anyone as a mother in Liberia”. “Let us not spoil the relationship”. “Look, Kessie has a Foundation, if the lady needs help, we can work it out, but that story is not true”. When asked as to why he feels Nancy Pyne is not Kessie’s mother since they look alike (the photo which was sent to him), he laughably and said, “We are Africans, we can resemble, we can have a big nose or what so ever”.
He then added “You can call the Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports in Liberia; Andy Quamie, he is a Confederation of African Football (CAF) coordinator. “He called me last year and told me that there was a story in Liberia that a lady was claiming to be the mother of Kessie. “I told him that was not true because the player’s mother is here in Abidjan and I even told Frank about what Andy Quamie told me”.
I immediately contacted Deputy Minister Andy Quamie who responded on the issue by saying, “Yes, Serge is my friend and I told him about the story last year when Kla Wesley ( journalist) broke the news in Liberia”, but Serge said the story was untrue and that the player’s mother, Nathalie, is his sister and was in Abidjan. He then averred that he informed Serge that from the photo, the player and the Liberian lady claiming to be his mother look alike, but he side people at times look alike.
Journalist T. Kla Wesley when contacted had these words to say: I was the first to break the news. It was a long time. I even spoke with the guy who holds Kessie’s boots; Serge, when he is going to practice about Kessie’s mother from Liberia and that he T. Kla wanted to talk to the player. They both live in the same house in Abidjan and he told me he could not do that because the player’s mother is in Abidjan and there was no need to waste time on that.
Who’s Telling the Truth?
An anonymous source informed me in the early hours of Thursday morning that the Liberian lady; Nancy Pyne, has a point and is telling the truth. Fresh from the Ivory Coast, the source narrated that the current lady acting as the biological mother of player Kessie, Nathalie, got married to the player’s father after the player left his mother in Sinoe, Liberia, for the Ivory Coast for schooling as per his father’s saying at the time to his mother ma Nancy.
The source further revealed that when Kessie was to be unveiled by Barca, the Nathalie lady was preparing to board a plane from Abidjan to attend the ceremony and that when this story drags, foreign news outlets will get involved and something serious as it relates to “age” will come to the fore.
Back to the man claiming to be the player’s uncle, Bailly, the photo of ma Nancy and Kessie’s father look far apart in age, and she is like more than ten years older than the player’s late father which still makes me wonder what does age have to do with a love affair.
Finally, when asked if he could speak to journalists here or a live interview be done with him on radio stations here or on Facebook or whether some journalists could travel to Abidjan to meet with him and probably Kessie who could be on vacation by June or July this year, his response is still expected.
Nyanway Washington Nyanway, a Liberian Footballer from the lower ranks of Egyptian football while preparing to return to Liberia, wrote me last year asking me to help him get a club here in Liberia. He came and started training with Nimba Kwado and then Watanga and later Barrolle all based on his own contacts because we never met here when he came due to my busy schedule.
Barrolle’s coach Matthew Julutweh confirmed to me that the player trained with the Rollers but he was still observing him. The player had earlier told me that he was a teammate of Kessie in the Ivorian lower division years back and the guy is his friend. weeks later, I monitored a conversation in one football chat room here where it was reported that Kessie was a Liberian, I quickly contacted Washington who said “We played together, but I don’t know if he is a Liberian”. Investigation continues…
DNA IS THE ANSWER