MALAWI: The father of the boy at the centre of adoption saga says he had no idea Madonna wanted to adopt his son

The father of the Malawian boy Madonna plans to adopt added a fresh twist to the saga, saying he never intended his son to be adopted by the pop diva, but only for her to raise the child on his behalf. In an interview with Reuters Television in his home village of Lipunga on Saturday (October 21), Yohane Banda said Madonna asked that she be able to raise his one-year-old son on his behalf, rather than that the child should become her own. Banda's statement is a major shift from his earlier remarks last week when he railed against human rights groups that have gone to court to stop Madonna from adopting his son David. "Had they told us that Madonna wanted to adopt my son, we would not have agreed to let him go forever…it would have been good that he continues staying at the orphanage because I see no reason why my child should be given away for good. Their request was not that the child should not become their own but rather to raise him on our behalf," Banda said in his local language of Chichewa. "The time we agreed with Madonna that she wants to get the child, there was no any arrangement that she is going to have him "David" as her own…and forever, no. It is just like he was at the orphanage that he will be raised and educated and thereafter he would be back to our family. Because at the orphanage we were told that the child will be raised and be given education and that when he reaches a certain age he will be back to us. So the same agreement that we had with the orphanage applies to that of Madonna that when he completes his education and that he is an adult, ready to stand on his own, then he will be brought back to the village. We are also expecting him to be visiting us so we can see him," he said, speaking at his village of Lipunga near the Zambia border late on Saturday. Madonna, 48, has angered human rights groups with her plan to adopt young David Banda, who left his native country on Tuesday last week for the entertainer's London home after she was granted temporary adoption rights by Malawi authorities. The High Court in Lilongwe will start hearing the case lodged by the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC), an alliance of 67 human rights groups, which argues current Malawi laws forbid international adoption, even by celebrities. Banda told Reuters he signed papers he could not understand, but government officials assured him that the agreement was similar to what he had with the orphanage -- to nurture and educate the boy but not take him away for good. Asked if he had any copies of the agreements he signed with Madonna, Banda said: "I am still waiting to get my copies." He said the copies were still in the hands of the government officials who mediated the agreement. Banda said he would wait to see them before deciding what action to take after consultations with his mother and other family members. Banda said he gave the boy to the orphanage mainly for medical care and breast-feeding after the boy's mother died of malaria days after giving birth to him. The American singer, who is married to British film director Guy Ritchie, hopes to make David a brother to her 10-year-old daughter Lourdes and son, Rocco, who is six. She has denied cutting corners to speed the adoption process. David will stay abroad with Madonna for 18 months and be monitored by Malawi officials before final approval can be given for him to officially join her family.

ITN Source | October 26, 2006

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