00:01:14
ITN
Madonna set to finalise adoption
Madonna set to finalise adoption
Madonna is set to appear in court in Malawi to finalise the adoption of a two-year-old boy.The pop star is expected to get a favourable ruling from the country's High Court on whether she can become David Banda's new mother - two years after she brought the boy from southern Africa to share her London home.The adoption has been controversial, with critics accusing the government of flouting laws that ban non-residents from adopting children in Malawi.The country has been ravaged by an Aids epidemic, leaving more than one million orphans.The boy's father Yohane Banda said on Monday he supported Madonna's case but wanted her to bring his boy home for visits.He said: "I have no problem with the government's recommendation to allow Madonna to get the child.This is what I wanted, that Madonna should keep the child."He added: "We had agreed initially that when the child is taken, she should bring him at least once in every three to four years so that we should see how he is developing."One of Malawi's fiercest critics of the adoption bid said it was no longer interested in pursuing the case.Udule Mwakasungura, chairman of the Human Rights Consultative Committee, said: "It will be as a waste of time and resources to continue pursuing the case. Malawi has more pressing issues than Madonna."Madonna took David when he was 13 months old after his father placed him in an orphanage following the death of his wife.
ITN | May 12, 2008
