MADONNA IN MALAWI, ASKING FOR "TEMPROARY ADOPTION"

MADONNA IN MALAWI, ASKING FOR "TEMPROARY ADOPTION"

Print Send this article(AGI) - Lilongwe, 30 Mar. -

Temporary adoption for 18 months: this is Madonna's request to the High Court of

Malawi, where this morning a debate began over a possible new addition to the

pop star’s family. Madonna has asked for temporary custody, a request that

may win over the family, but cannot be said to placate the controversy created

by her second adoption. Wearing a dark dress, black sunglasses and surrounded by

two bodyguards, Madonna appeared in court, where her lawyer had already

deposited the documentation relevant to the child, Mercy James. The hearing was

adjourned until Friday, 3rd April, to give the judge time to make a decision.

Upon leaving the court room, the pop star did not reply to journalists'

questions, but one of Madonna's lawyers explained that the singer had asked for

"an adoption of 18 months" for little Mercy. The four year old child is

currently at the same orphanage where David Banda lived, in the south of the

country.

Mercy's father is still alive, but it is not clear where he is.

The child's grandmother, Lucy Chekechiwa, was initially angered by the idea:

“It is robbery, I won't let her go", but now it seems that an agreement has

been reached and, according to the grandmother, Madonna has promised to bring

the child back when she is six years old. Malawi does not recognize the laws

that regulate international adoption and Madonna has been accused of taking

advantage of her fame and wealth to accelerate a process which in another

country would have been more complicated and much longer. Indifferent to the

public outcry, the queen of pop arrived yesterday on a private jet at the

international airport of Kamuzu in Lilongwe, landing in an area reserved for

cargo.

She was accompanied not only by her elder daughter Lourdes, but by David

Banda. His journey to Malawi has seen the return of international public

criticism, but has already achieved a result: a few hours after his arrival in

Africa, David was reunited with his biological father, Yohane Banda. The 34 year

old had not seen his son in three years. The private meeting took place in a

safari hotel, just outside the capital Lilongwe. "He was hopping from one foot

to the other, you could see he was really happy", said an employee.