Publicité
Madonna facing adoption wrangle
A group of Malawian charities says pop star Madonna’s bid to adopt a boy is “illegal” and will seek a court injunction halting the adoption.
The Human Rights Consultative Committee says the adoption of one-year-old David Banda is illegal because Madonna has not lived in the African country. The singer and husband Guy Ritchie have been granted an interim court order approving the adoption.
The couple returned to the UK at the weekend after a 10-day visit to Malawi.
<B>Assessment </B>
The boy remains in Malawi while passport and visa issues are being dealt with. Malawian officials said he was being cared for currently by members of Madonna’s entourage.
The committee of 67 human rights organisations wants the adoption suspended until a judicial review is heard.
HRCC chairman Justin Dzonzi said: “The laws of Malawi are clear that if one wants to adopt a child one has to stay with the child for at least 18 months for assessment.”
He added that Malawian law prohibited international adoption. “If Madonna wants to adopt this baby she has to stay here,” he told reporters.
But Penston Kilembe, director of child welfare in the Ministry of Gender, Child Welfare and Community Services, said Madonna and Ritchie had broken no laws.
“The process did not start today; Madonna’s people have been pushing the papers for some time and her coming was just to sign the papers to conclude the process,” he said.
Father’s consent </B>
The child had been cared for at the Home of Hope Orphan Care Centre in a village close to the border with Zambia, after his mother died a month after his birth from related complications.
The boy’s father, Yohame Banda, has agreed to the adoption. “What I want is a good life for my child,” he said.
Madonna travelled to the region with Ritchie to help fight poverty and the problem of HIV and Aids. She has pledged to donate about $3m (£1.6m) to help 900,000 orphans in Malawi.
The 48-year-old already has two children, five-year-old son Rocco and nine-year-old daughter Lourdes.
Publicité
Publicité
Les plus récents
