Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie have jetted out of Malawi after gaining preliminary custody of a one-year-old boy they want to adopt in an apparently streamlined procedure that sparked criticism from a child protection organisation.

Superstar Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie flew out of Malawi earlier today - without their adopted son David Banda.

Madonna filed adoption papers at a Malawi court today, a government official said, confirming claims that the star planned to adopt a one-year-old boy.

MADONNA has adopted a one-year-old Malawian boy from a poverty-stricken background whose mother died after childbirth, his father has claimed.

Pop superstar Madonna has adopted a one-year-old boy in Malawi, according to the child's father.