UNITED KINGDOM: Madonna leaves London home amid controversy over attempt to adopt Malawian orphan

A one-year-old Malawian boy Madonna wants to adopt arrived to a life of luxury in Britain on Tuesday (October 17), but rights groups questioned the legality of the move and whether it was best for the child himself. Swapping the poverty of an African orphanage for the superstar's London mansion, David Banda flew into London with one of the U.S. singer's bodyguards and her personal assistant. Malawian authorities waived local rules to grant Madonna and her British film director husband, Guy Ritchie, an interim adoption on Monday (October 16) , prompting charges from rights groups that Madonna used her status to bypass normal rules. Madonna, 48, is hoping to make David a brother to her nine-year-old daughter Lourdes, and her son, Rocco, who is five. Malawian law bans adoptions by non-residents, but officials are granting an exemption to Madonna. The interim order lasts for 18 months, giving Malawian courts time to evaluate the new parents. Around 50 rights groups have filed court documents asking for an injunction allowing them to block the adoption. Banda, who is leaving behind his father Yohane, will swap his home in a dilapidated orphanage near the Zambian border for a life of luxury in London with one of the world's most famous couples and their two children. The boy's mother died after she gave birth to him, according to media reports. The 13-month-old baby, wearing a blue and orange baseball cap, was carried off the flight by a female assistant who quickly covered his head with a coat to shield him from cameras. Three armed police officers and airport officials escorted the party through Heathrow's terminal one and out of a back door to a silver Mercedes, which drove them away. A Reuters photographer later saw the silver car, which had blacked-out windows, arriving at Madonna's central London home, where it sped into a rear garage. Madonna and her husband arrived in Malawi on October 4 on what was described as a humanitarian trip, and left last Friday (October 13). She spent most of the trip visiting orphanages to highlight the plight of some 900,000 orphans in the country. The singer has promised to donate about US $3 million U.S. dollars to the campaign to help these children via the charity, Raising Malawi. In addition to two homes in Britain, the singer also has a home in Beverly Hills in the United States. British media reported that the baby had been granted a U.S. visa, prompting suggestions that the pop star may seek to adopt him in America. The singer left her London home in the back of a car with blacked out windows on Tuesday morning before returning in the same vehicle. It is thought she had made a trip to the gym. Publicist Max Clifford called on Madonna to convince the British public she had done the right thing in bringing David to the UK. He said: "You've got to do things in the open, particularly when there's a little boy and a little boy's future involved, so I think that's what happened is inevitable and it's up to Madonna and Guy Ritchie now to answer the criticisms and make sure that people know they've done the right thing, in the right way, and for the right reasons."

ITN Source | October 17, 2006

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