Madonna in Malawi for new child adoption

Mabvuto Banda, Reuters

Villagers and reporters crowd around a convoy of cars transporting US pop singer Madonna as she arrives at a site where she is setting up a school near Lilongwe, yesterday.

US pop singer Madonna arrived in Malawi yesterday ahead of a court examination this week of her bid to adopt a second Malawian child, a girl called Mercy James, officials said.

"She disembarked from the cargo area and jumped into her convoy," an airport official said.

An employee said Madonna had checked into an exclusive lodge, accompanied by her son David Banda, whom she adopted in 2006 from the same Mchinji Home of Hope orphanage where 4-year-old Mercy lives.

The employee said David's biological father Yohane Banda was at the lodge to see his son. Some Malawians opposed David's adoption, accusing the government of skirting laws that ban non-residents from adopting children. Critics say Mercy's adoption would also violate Malawi's laws.

Court clerks confirmed the name of the child last week and said Madonna or her associates are expected to appear in court today for the adoption proceedings.

The local Nation newspaper this month quoted Madonna, 50, as saying Malawian friends had told her David needed a brother or sister and that she would consider adopting another child, but only with the support of the Malawian people.

Madonna took David when he was 13-months-old after his father had placed him in an orphanage following the death of his wife.

The singer has said despite the controversy around David's adoption, she was happy to be involved in a case that might pave the way for more adoptions in Malawi, where an estimated one million children have been orphaned by AIDS.

David's life with Madonna is far removed from his village of Lipunga, where the staple food is maize and residents cook their meals on open fires.

Madonna was divorced last year from British film director Guy Ritchie, but says this will not deprive their three children of either parent.