'MADONNA DID ADOPT MY SON'

New York Post

MADONNA maximized the publicity over her adoption of an African urchin by having her publicist, Liz Rosenberg, deny it last week. But the baby's own father has told The Associated Press in Malawi that Madonna has adopted his son, David.

Yohame Banda, 32, said the baby's mother, Marita, died a month after giving birth a year ago. "I am very, very happy because, as you can see, there is poverty in this village, and I know he will be very well looked after in America," Banda said.

Malawi officials said last week the pop star planned to adopt a child while she was in the impoverished African nation visiting projects she funds for AIDS orphans.

But Madonna's savvy publicist denied any adoption had taken place - spawning another day of stories and more publicity for her humanitarian efforts.

Banda said his son had been living at the Home of Hope Orphan Care Center in Mchinji, a village near the Zambian border, until Monday, when he was taken to the capital, Lilongwe, where Madonna and her entourage were staying at an upscale ranch.

Madonna has visited the care center at least once during her visit to build an orphanage for 4,000 kids. She and her husband, Guy Ritchie, have a son, Rocco, 5, and the singer also has a daughter, Lourdes, 9.

Banda, a farm worker who lives in Lipunga, a village about 50 miles from the orphanage, said he'd been told that David would make regular visits to Malawi. "He will know his roots," Banda said.

The child's grandmother, Asinei Mwale, said, "The director of the orphanage came here yesterday and told us that David has been adopted by a famous American singer. I am very glad for him because having grown up as an orphan myself, I know how tough life can be."

In an open letter to Madonna released yesterday, the private Malawian advocacy group Eye of the Child welcomed her concern for the nation's children, but questioned whether foreign adoptions were in their best interests.

Jackie Schoeman, the executive director of Cotlands, a South African organization that cares for HIV-afflicted children, said the first choice for orphans should be a place in a local family.