'Madonna's adopted son would be better off in Malawi' says his biological father

By Barbara Jones
Last updated at 10:40 PM on 18th October 2008

The real father of Madonna's adopted son David feels bitterly disappointed that she is getting a divorce - and yesterday he declared: 'I am still a poor farmer with nothing to offer, but maybe he would be better off back with us.'

Yohane Banda has remarried and now has a happy new family living in his thatched hut in Malawi.

His new wife Flora, her daughter Tiyamike, three, and their seven-month-old baby son Dingiswayo - David's half-brother - live a simple life but it is filled with love.

Worlds apart: Yohane with his new wife, baby son and stepdaughter in Malawi

Bewildered David with Madonna, her manager and her entourage

Yet Yohane was filled with regret and sadness as he looked at a photograph of David.

The little boy was walking the streets of Athens, one of his hands held by Madonna, the other by Guy Oseary who jointly manages the singer and basketball player Alex Rodriguez - the man to whom she has been romantically linked.

Guy Ritchie, David's adoptive father, was nowhere in sight.

Divorce woes: A gaunt looking Madonna leaves the Kabbalah centre in New York today

Yohane, 34, said: 'He doesn't look happy in this picture. He looks bewildered. If there is no love in the family, is there any love for him?

'This is a new and terrible thing to happen to him. I am too upset to think clearly. He is only three years old and he has been through so much.

'I have the joy of a new family and I even have a new son. But now when I think of David in danger of living outside a family life I find it unbearable, I find it hard to believe God intended this.

'This woman Madonna told me herself that David was beautiful and made her happy and she promised to take good care of him.

'Now I see him in a big bewildering crowd in the street with people pushing and shoving, and many cameras around, and without a mother and father to hold his hand. I'm feeling bad for him.'

The peasant farmer placed David in the Home of Hope orphanage at seven weeks old after his mother died from childbirth complications.

When Madonna and Guy Ritchie adopted David two years ago his father was assured the little boy had a stable family life ahead of him.

But that dream has been turned on its head. David now faces a life spent shuttling across the Atlantic between Madonna and Guy's homes.

One of the recurring rows between the couple was over her wish to adopt a second child from Malawi, three-year-old orphan Mercy James.

Yohane recalled: 'When Madonna decided she wanted David, I was very undecided.

'I was face-to-face with Madonna and her husband for about 30 minutes. I knew nothing about them really. They just seemed a loving couple, committed to each other, committed to marriage and committed to my son.

New family: David with Madonna and her two other children, Lourdes and Rocco

'They promised to take good care of him and always remember he was from Malawi. That's why I let them take him. Now I feel let down and disappointed, really shocked.

'It feels like yesterday that Madonna promised me a happy life and good education for him.

'I thought she would take him away from the danger of malaria and other diseases that kill children here, and that she would let me know that he was happy.

'I have never heard from her since the day I agreed to let her adopt David. She has sent no photographs or news. I suppose she just wants him for herself.'

The Bandas live in an isolated village with no running water or electricity, growing vegetables and keeping goats. But they say they feel no envy for Madonna's £300million fortune.

Yohane and his first wife Marita had two baby sons who died of malaria before David's birth and his mother's own tragic death.

Yohane remembered: 'All I wanted was for David to have a better life.'

He does not intend to intervene in Madonna's marriage crisis but wants to know more about his son's future.

A long way from London: David Banda's former home in Malawi

At the time of the adoption, critics accused Madonna of using her fame to circumvent Malawi's law.

A £50,000 donation to the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare is rumoured to have helped.

Adrina Mchiela, then principal secretary at the ministry, said yesterday: 'I was very involved in the Madonna case.

'It was my job to ensure she took full responsibility for this child. All I can hope is that David's future will be a priority in divorce proceedings. No one could have known this would happen.

Malawi's Chief Social Welfare Officer Simon Chisale, who compiled glowing assessment reports to support Madonna's case, describing her as a 'perfect mum', said: 'I think we reported fairly. No one can really know what goes on between two people even when they seem close. No one expected this to happen.'

Justin Dzonzi, the lawyer who tried to prevent the adoption on behalf of 67 children's rights groups, said: 'The ideal in adoption cases is for lost parents to be replaced by a set of new parents. David is now losing his new parents, it is indescribably sad for him.

'There is no provision in Malawi law for us to take any steps now.'