Madonna adoption of Mercy James rejected by Malawi judge

PD*27902489 In a surprise ruling, a judge in Lilongwe turned down the interim adoption application and ruled that the pop superstar could not take the little girl to the US. Madonna had been widely expected to succeed in her bid to adopt Mercy, a sibling for her three-year-old Malawian son David Banda.

“I must decline to grant the application to Madonna,” judge Esmie Chondo said in a ruling following the hearing, which was held in private.

“By removing the very safeguard that is supposed to protect our children, the courts by their pronouncements could actually facilitate trafficking of children by some unscrupulous individuals who would take advantage of the weakness of the laws of the land.

“I must confess that there is a gripping temptation to throw caution to the wind and grant an adoption in the hope that there will be a difference in the life of just one child. However, it should be borne in mind that inter-country adoptions may not be and are not the only solution.”

Court registrar Ken Manda told reporters that the application was rejected because the singer was not a resident of Malawi.

An interim adoption is the first stage in the process and would have allowed Madonna to take Mercy out of the country. The star was granted an interim adoption of David in 2006 and immediately took him to Britain. The adoption process was completed last year.

Only yesterday, the government of Malawi voiced support for the adoption. The country’s Information Minister, Patricia Kaliati, said: “Madonna has been good to us. She is supporting over 25,000 orphans in this country and she has proved that she can take care of David. Very few rich and famous people can take time to fly all the way to Malawi to support our children. We support her adoption process.”

However, Mercy’s extended family has expressed dismay at the prospect of losing the little girl, and human rights groups have accused the 50-year-old singer of “child trafficking” and skirting laws which require an adoptive parent to be resident in the country for 18-24 months.

There was no immediate comment from Madonna and no word yet on whether she will appeal against the ruling.

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