[size=15pt]Madonna loses Malawi adoption bid[/size]

Madonna with adopted son David Banda
Madonna previously adopted Malawian boy David Banda

A Malawian court has ruled that US pop star Madonna has failed in her bid to adopt a second child from the country.

"I must have to decline to grant the application to Madonna," judge Esmie Chondo said in a ruling following a closed-door hearing on Friday.

According to reports, the application has been rejected over residency rules.

Madonna, who flew to Malawi on Sunday, was not in court to hear the ruling over Chifundo James, three. It is not clear if she will appeal against it.

The 50-year-old singer flew into the southern African state on Sunday and applied to adopt Chifundo James, whose name translates into English as Mercy, the following day.

The Associated Press news agency said Madonna's application had been rejected because of a requirement that prospective parents be resident in the southern African state for 18 to 24 months.

The rule was waived in 2006 when Madonna was allowed to take her adopted son, David Banda, to London before his adoption was finalised in 2008.

Criticism

Had Madonna's application been successful, Chifundo would have been a sister to David, the first child she adopted from the African country, and her biological children Lourdes and Rocco.

Chifundo is in the same orphanage that previously housed David, now three years old.

According to court papers just released, Madonna had said she was "able and willing to securely provide for Chifundo James and make her a permanent and established member of my family".

"To deny Chifundo James the opportunity to be adopted by me could expose her to hardship and emotional trauma which is otherwise avoidable," she continued.

However, Madonna's efforts to adopt the three-year-old attracted criticism from some parties who said the little girl would be best off with relatives.

The performer was also accused of using her fame and money to fast-track the adoption process, a charge refuted by her spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7980951.stm

A victory for common sense. The so called celebrities should be made to understand , they cant just walk to any African country and pick up a child as if they are picking an article in the market.

A big thank you to the judge, I feel proud to be African

mumu judge!!!

The judge had better commited a suicide before I grew up If i were to be the child!!!!

I am a strong advocate of western parents adopting african children insted of spending thier money and love heavily on cats and dogs - and this is what this stupid judge has dealt a heavy blow on!!!!

Let me hope Madonna apeal the decision

PeeDaVinci:

mumu judge!!!

The judge had better commited a suicide before I grew up If i were to be the child!!!!

I am a strong advocate of western parents adopting african children insted of spending thier money and love heavily on cats and dogs

hehehehehehe

It depends on if the child already has a parent. Otherwise, it is better to discourage Westerners from going to Africa to 'buy' children from their parents. If the child is already in an orphanage, then fine, she can go ahead and adopt.

What gives u the impression that Madonna is buying the child, even, if she wants to buy the child, she is not buying the child into slavery (what we do in Nigeria) and if she is giving the parents money to have the child stay with her, this means the child will know his/her parents - which is even better coz the child will have a choice of who to be with in the future. I tell u, if I am told now that one judge somewhere once denied me a chance to be adopted by Elvis Presley - that jugde is in trouble oooo - more esp. if i am now very poor!!!

We in Africa give birth to children we cant take care of - see them in the streets, malnourished, not given proper education and most grow up to me a menace to the society. And here in the west, they have a love and the money that they direct to other things - cats, dogs, birds - u can imagine how much these folks spend on this!!
One of my former colleagues took a weeks break from work when her dog died to mourn it!!!

So if these folks decide to spend these resources that they have on our african children (that we dont love, appreciate and value - coz if we value them, we wont bring them into the world without thinkin of how they are going to live in this world), let them do it - although i will support some form of regulations to this too , but not that stupid one in malawi

Africa is currently being scrutinized for its procedures for adoptions by whites parents. Improvements must be made to a “corrupt” system that is rumored to accommodate illegal adoption transactions and even “stolen” children who are quickly purchased by whites Americans and Europeans. Also most of the white Americans and Europeans suffer from a sense of superiority, as if they are doing the world a favor by adopting the poor African baby who otherwise might have been living on the streets.

Ibime:

hehehehehehe

It depends on if the child already has a parent. Otherwise, it is better to discourage Westerners from going to Africa to 'buy' children from their parents. If the child is already in an orphanage, then fine, she can go ahead and adopt.

The child was already in an orphanage. Relatives only showed up when Madonna showed interest. The same with David Banda; he was in an oprhanage but had a father who claimed he didn't have enough money to look after him but in the meantime the man had remarried and had other kids. Fake Africans. Poor Mercy, I hope Madonna appeals.

i dont think there was much wrong with the adoption process itself,the judge must have succumbed to and allowed the western media to becloud and influence his judgement,the girl herself is not the only issue here,but the impact madonna's celebrity status will bring to improving the country's situation and disadvantaged children,already it has been reported that madonna has used her clout to raise millions of poundsfor children in malawi and knowing how fickle and ego driven celebrities are,if she loses interest,then they will certainly be the worse for it and not her,as there are other african countries who will gladly allow her to adopt and the media will switch off from them as quickly as madonna does.
my sister adopted a total of 4 children from nigeria and she wasnt required to stay any amount of time in nigeria after they considered all the other conditions she had met,which is what they should have considered as they are not seriously expecting her to put the welfare of her other children on hold for one child

Please let her come to Nigeria and adopt I_LAUGH for free so that he can taste constant electricity, good roads and many more

spikedcylinder:

'Ol boy. . . .Madonna should come and buy me abeg. I don't mind being called spiked madonna for the rest of my life.

spikecylinder, how much are you up for?

I'll like to recommend spikedcylinder and I_Laugh to Madonna for adoption.

LOL @ "Mr. Tpia"!

As to this adoption, I really never had a problem with it in the first place. The child is an orphan, with both parents dead, Madonna would have made sure this child had a wonderful life, great education, and above all, a loving family. But, now that this adoption bid has been denied, I think if she really cares about this child, she should either sponsor the little boy, or help raise the quality of life in the boys village. Build a school, health post, etc, that would benefit multiple children in need.

Na for small things African countries like to dey show power.
I was reading bout how an Asian country came and got hold of a lease to hundreds of hectares of land in an African country for 99 years. . . paying ZILCH!!! No judge dusted his law books then.
Now to adopt a child from an orphanage is WWIII.

THIS IS THE MOST STUPID THING I HAVE EVER SEEN - They say Madonna is an attention LovePeddler ? Someone who was going to adopt a child,providing her have a better life than she could ever have. For goodness sakes the girl was in an orphanage ! All of a sudden the grandmother comes out of nowhere saying she wants the child back,who's the attention LovePeddler now !?!
I laugh at Malawi's foolishness,a country in poverty and ruins from HIV is turning down someone who wants to take away one less mouth to feed.
I can't wait for the backlash,international communties would start turning their backs on the country. Madonna brought the plight of the country to the limelight when she did adopted David Banda and did a documentary on the hell zone,now they bite their hand that fed them,they are fu~cked,and not in the good way !

Lucabrasi wrote

i dont think there was much wrong with the adoption process itself,the judge must have succumbed to and allowed the western media to becloud and influence his judgement,,

Its unfair to look down on Malawi because its a poor African country. The adoption law in Malawi is very clear: you have to be resident in the country for at least 18 months. Madonna is not resident in the country for 24 hours. Why should Malawi law be sacrifice twice for Madonna.

The issue goes beyond money; its about respect , image and dignity, no amount of money can buy it. Our own government spent billion trying to launder Nigeria image to no avail. All Madonnas money cannot improve Malawi image if they destroy it.

Kudos to the Judge for restoring the dignity of all Malawians

PeedDaVinci wrote

mumu judge!!!

The judge had better commited a suicide before I grew up If i were to be the child!!!!

I am a strong advocate of western parents adopting african children insted of spending thier money and love heavily on cats and dogs - and this is what this stupid judge has dealt a heavy blow on!!!!

Let me hope Madonna apeal the decision

You are a fool. Its because of people like you that Nigeria never move forward, you allowed money to cloud your judgement

There is an adoption process. Many, many couples and families go through the extensive and exhaustive selection process, some even relocating to the particular country to enhance their chances of fostering/adoption.

Why should it be that Madonna and A.Jolie should be able to simply bypass the system just because their celebrities? It implies that ordinary people not as important and are not as equipped as they are to make a good home for these kids.

I think the judge was very brave in making the decision, cos influential pressure a la that of Madonna/Jolie's lawyers is more intimidating than media pressure.

Madonna needs to get the f*** in line like the rest of the folks, the jumped up tart!

It is the girl “Mercy” I feel sorry for. Her life would have changed drastically in such a good way.
One can only hope the girl will be okay in that poverty ridden country.

Funny place that continent Africa, when you need the “law” it is nowhere to be found but when it is absolutely not needed some people start shouting oh but it is the law!

bilymuse:

PeedDaVinci wrote

You are a fool. Its because of people like you that Nigeria never move forward, you allowed money to cloud your judgement

YOU ARE THE FOOL,what has Nigeria got to do with this,we are talking about Malawi here,a country ravaged by AIDS,where most mothers don't live after giving birth,where's pride in that.

vanitty:

It is the girl “Mercy” I feel sorry for. Her life would have changed drastically in such a good way.
One can only hope the girl will be okay in that poverty ridden country.

Funny place that continent Africa, when you need the “law” it is nowhere to be found but when it is absolutely not needed some people start shouting oh but it is the law!

Exactly,sometimes I'm just so sick of Africa

@Kadman

People like you are not fit for purpose, the story hold interest to you simply because Madonna is rich, otherwise you dont care.

All Madonnas money cannot be sustituted for 1% of Malawi integrity