Hold on: other sources say that Ophelia Famotidina is not the complainant

Corey N. writes:

The photo you’ve posted from J Tribune is not the chambermaid. According to Le Nouvel Observateur and this French site, the name of the accuser is Nafissatou Diallo, and she’s not from Ghana but from Guinea [or Guyana?].

However, the second link is also saying that she is HIV-positive, while the Nouvel Observateur reported that her lawyer was on CNN insisting that she was not and it was a dirty rumor being spread by DSK’s friends.

The photo you posted is one I have seen elsewhere, attached to the name “Ophelia,” but I have seen no evidence that it actually is the maid in question.

I think it is best not to take anything as given regarding her identity until it actually comes out as a result of court proceedings.

LA replies:

Another contradiction is about whether she is a devout Muslim or not. Ophelia, with her uncovered head and open, friendly expression, does not look like one.

Here, in an article at GhanaNation.com is Nafissatou Diallo:

If this is the woman, the photo is not recent. She looks much younger than 32. And she also does not look like a devout Muslim woman from Africa.

LA writes:

But hold on. Another site, RepublicReport.com, has an article with a different photo saying that this is the woman. Actually the article shows two women, and it doesn’t clearly say which one is supposed to be Nafissatou. So now we have a total of three (or even four) different women who are said to be the accuser.

Obviously, had I known that there were such contradictory reports floating around, I would not have posted the previous entry, and this entry would also have not been necessary. Sorry for the distraction.

- end of initial entry -

Corey N. writes:

I should also note that “the brother is not the brother”:

“According to Slate.fr, from which a journalist was able to contact the family of the presumed victim of DSK, she has no brother”

That is, the man who was interviewed by the media and gave his identity as being the brother of the maid in question and assured everyone that she was just a hard worker who didn’t look for trouble, in fact seems to have nothing to do with her. It seems he was just out to get his kicks by pretending to be important for a little while.

It would not surprise me if the Ghanaian identity (or at the very least the photo) also turns out false. After all that general region has made, as its great contribution to world culture, the Nigerian scam.

LA replies:

Again, had I known that there was all this contradictory information floating around, I would not have gotten started on this subject by posting the item from the J Tribune, which looked legitimate. Until a regular mainstream news source provides the information on the woman (not just a website, and not even a solid-looking “news” website like J Tribune) there is no point in trying to follow this aspect of the DSK story.

Tiberge from Galliawatch writes:

I’m glad I didn’t send you any photos of the woman. I had seen them, but even the articles I read said they didn’t know which photo was the right one. I still don’t know which country she’s from.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at May 19, 2011 11:36 AM | Send