Madonna denies using fame to secure adoption

MADONNA hit back yesterday at claims she was using her fame to pressure Malawi into allowing her to adopt another child.

She confirmed she was trying for custody of a young girl but said she was following normal procedures.

The 50-year-old singer said through a spokeswoman that she is following standard procedures in adopting the child amid criticism by some that she was using her fame to speed up the process.

The superstar also confirmed she took her three-year-old son David, also adopted from Malawi, to visit his biological father Yohane Banda for the first time since she and David left the country in 2006.

“Madonna is committed to maintaining an ongoing relationship with David’s Malawian roots,” said her spokeswoman in a statement yesterday.

Madonna arrived in Malawi this week with David, her 12-year-old daughter Lourdes and eight-year-old son Rocco, and has toured the country and visited a daycare centre built by her charity.

But she also came to the country in attempts to bring home another child. In her statement, Madonna confirmed she is trying to adopt a girl named Chifundo “Mercy” James, who is about four years of age.

A Malawian welfare official and another person involved in the proceedings confirmed an adoption application was under way.

The girl’s 18-year-old mother was unmarried and died soon after she gave birth, according to the child’s uncle, John Ngalande. Her father is believed to be alive but has little contact with his daughter, he said.

A coalition of non-governmental organisations called Human Rights Consultative Committee has criticised Madonna’s attempts to adopt another child, saying that adoption should be the last resort and that children need to be taken care of by their own family.

“Mercy James is a child who has her extended close family members alive and we urge Madonna to assist the child from right here,” a statement from the coalition said.

But others have said the adoption would give enormous opportunities to the child that she would be unable to achieve in impoverished Malawi.

Malawian law is fuzzy on foreign adoptions. Regulations stipulate only that prospective parents undergo an 18- to 24-month assessment period in Malawi, a rule bent when Madonna was allowed to take David to London.

Madonna may also face challenges as a single mother — she divorced Guy Ritchie last year.

Madonna first travelled to Malawi in 2006 while filming a documentary on the devastating poverty and AIDS crisis. Her Raising Malawi organisation, founded in 2006, raises funds to provide food, shelter, education and healthcare for children.