Madonna's Malawi baby arrives in UK

The Malawian baby Madonna and her husband, Guy Ritchie, are trying to adopt arrived in Britain today on an overnight flight from Johannesburg.

The nanny, bodyguard and aides accompanying the child avoided waiting reporters at Heathrow’s Terminal 1 arrivals hall and left by another exit.

The 13-month-old boy, David Banda, was flown out of the African country yesterday after the couple were granted an interim adoption order and the baby was issued with a passport and visa.

The child was put on a private jet from Malawi to South Africa yesterday afternoon after the courts issued the travel documents.

Madonna and Ritchie had earlier been granted temporary custody of the child for 18 months, the singer’s spokeswoman confirmed.

The little boy is now expected to be reunited with his “new parents”, who returned to Britain ahead of him.

The star’s spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, said yesterday: “It is expected that the family will be reunited within the next few days.

“The interim adoption grants David’s new parents temporary custody for 18 months, during which time they will be evaluated by the courts of Malawi per the tribal customs of the country.”

Madonna left Malawi on Friday following a week-long visit to orphanages there - the same day that human rights groups filed court documents asking a judge to review the adoption amid claims it had been fast-tracked because of her celebrity.

An immigration official at Lilongwe Airport said David had been issued with a US visa and left the country accompanied by two Britons and two Americans.

One of the Americans listed her occupation as a nanny.

Human rights groups claim the authorities may be bending the rules in return for the singer pledging three million US dollars to help children in Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries.

Boniface Mandere, of Eye Of The Child, a local child protection society involved in the challenge, said: “The court seems to have made a decision based on Madonna’s wealth.

“But being a good parent is not about money – it is about caring, having heart, it’s about love.”

Malawi law requires would-be parents to live in the country for a year while social welfare officers investigate their ability to care for the child. Foreigners are not allowed to adopt children, but these rules appear to have been waived in Madonna’s case.

Justin Dzonzi, a lawyer for the human rights groups challenging the adoption, said they were not against Madonna adopting a child.

“But we are concerned that the correct procedures be followed and that our laws to protect children are not undermined – and our law is very clear that there is no inter-country adoption,” he said.

Mr Dzonzi stressed that the adoption was not yet final.

Half a million children in the country have been orphaned by Aids.

Yet David is not an orphan – his father gave him up because he was unable to care for him after David’s mother died a week after his birth.

David's father, peasant farmer Yohane Banda, took the baby to an orphanage to be cared for when he became sick at five weeks old.

He had already lost his first two children to malaria.

The child’s picture is believed to be among 12 emailed to Madonna from the Home of Hope Orphan Care Centre in Mchinji.

The orphanage director, the Rev Thompson Chipeta, told Mr Banda “a very nice Christian lady” wanted to offer David a home.

Madonna, 48, wants David to be a brother to her children, Lourdes, nine, and Rocco, five.

Two months ago the pop superstar announced she was to donate £3m (€4.46m) to the country through the Raising Malawi charity.

Her partner in the project is Michael Berg, founder of the Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles.

Arriving at Heathrow today, the baby, who was wearing denim shorts, a white T-shirt and a baseball cap, was covered with a blanket as he was carried out on to the runway, protecting him from the cold as well as photographers.

Despite the cold and the early hour, David did not cry and seemed remarkably alert after his long flight. He was surrounded by the star’s aides and carried by the brunette who was seen taking him on to the plane which left Malawi.

It is not known whether the baby will be taken to Madonna’s Wiltshire country home or whether the couple will now travel to the US as David has been issued with a US visa.

Just before 8am, a silver-coloured people carrier with blacked-out windows raced into the rear garage of Madonna’s exclusive central London home.

Photographers swarmed around the vehicle as a rear gate was opened and the car drove inside the building.

It is thought that baby David was inside.