MALAWI: Too soon to tell if Madonna can adopt David Banda, agency says

It's too early to tell if a Malawi court will grant pop singer Madonna legal custody of the African child she is trying to adopt, a spokesman for a Malawi child advocacy group says. Sources close to the court reviewing Madonna's adoption case said on Sunday (September 23), that it was too early to speculate whether Madonna would be successful in adopting Malawian orphan David Banda. The statement was made to dampen media reports which indicated that Madonna had been given the go-ahead for the adoption after a Malawian government official from the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare visited her home in London. According to Maxwell Matewere, Executive Director for the leading Malawi child advocacy group The Eye of the Child, and friend of the court in the case involving Madonna's adoption proceedings, the order to allow Madonna to adopt David Banda could only come from the court after a recommendation from the assessment made by the Ministry. "What we think could happen is that the guardian ad litem who is the Ministry of Women and Child Development, and in this case being represented by Mr. Chisale, would present the report to the court so that the court could use that report to determine whether Madonna could be granted the final order," said Matewere. Matewere explained the assessment of the child's welfare in Madonna's home would be a long procedure carried out over a period of 18 months which included several visits to the home. However, he also stressed the final decision could only be given by the courts and the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare could not dictate or work independently from the court. Meanwhile, there are reports that Madonna is planning to adopt another Malawian orphan, a 13-month-old baby named Mercy whose mother died five days after giving birth. Journalist Nelson Nyirenda said it may be too soon to adopt another child given the controversy which still surrounds David Banda's adoption. "This is not the right way of doing it. Because we know that Madonna of course she is trying to help us to adopt another child. To help that child. But then there are all these wrangles about David Banda and these things haven't died down yet," said Nyirenda.

ITN Source | September 23, 2007

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