Posts Tagged ‘adoption’

Madonna Adoption Ruling Expected

June 11th, 2009

Madonna will know tomorrow whether or not the Malawian High Court will let her take home four-year-old Mercy James, the AP reports.

 

Madge’s lawyer Alan Chinula broke the news, saying that the ruling will be issued at 9 a.m. Friday.

 

The Material Girl appealed to the High Court after a lower court denied her bid to adopt Mercy because she hadn’t been screen in that country for the proper length of time, a requirement not in place when she adopted son David Banda from Malawi in 2006.

 
Madonna has founded a charity, Raising Malawi, which helps feed, educate and provide medical care for some of Malawi’s more than 1 million orphans, half of whom have lost parents to AIDS.

Madonna To Get Mercy After All?

June 9th, 2009

So it looks like Madonna will get her way after all…? (ed. note We’re leaving a big question mark on that one as we stay tuned)

A Malawian court is preparing to overturn the decision not to allow the superstar to adopt orphan Mercy James from the country, according to reports in the UK.

Back in March a court said that she would not be allowed to take the four-year-old back to America with her because there is a rule that prevents people who have not been living in Malawi for less than 18 month from adopting there – a rule that was not enforced when she adopted her youngest son, David Banda, from the same orphanage in 2006.

But her lawyers appealed the decision to keep Mercy in Malawi, and now several British newspapers claim that the three judges hearing their case will overrule the earlier decision.

The reports claim that she now has the backing of two of the judges, with a third close to giving her support as well, so it is said that the official ruling will be made next Sunday.

Did anybody really doubt that the Material Girl would get what she wanted one way or another?

Mercy’s Father Against Madonna’s Adoption Bid

May 4th, 2009

The latest wrench in Madonna’s plan to adopt a second child from the African nation of Malawi isn’t the bureaucratic red tape, but a man believed to be the father of the little girl she wishes to bring into her family.

"I want to take care of her," says James Kambewa in an interview on CBS’ Early Show. "I’m capable to take care of my baby."

According to James, the issue isn’t just a matter of paternity for 4-year-old Chifundo "Mercy" James. "Mercy, she is a Malawian," he explains. "[I] need her to grow as a Malawian, as well with our culture."

As he speaks to the camera outside the court house, James wears a heart-shaped necklace he made with Mercy’s name, and says he’s never met his daughter, and that he’s only seen her “in newspapers and TV, not face-to-face." He adds that he misses  Mercy’s mother, his girlfriend when Mercy was born, "a lot."

James says he was too poor to marry Mercy’s mother, and he had to move hundreds of miles away six months after she became pregnant.

Speaking through a translator, he told the show, "The letter said my girlfriend and my daughter have passed away during childbirth. This was the toughest point in my life."

 

But Mercy lived, and was taken care of by her grandmother until being given over to the orphanage. James claims he found out just a month ago that she was alive, when reporters covering Madonna’s adoption case found him.

 

James isn’t the only member of Mercy’s family speaking out. Lucy Chekechiwa, Mercy’s maternal grandmother, says she feels bullied into the adoption. “I did not want my granddaughter to be adopted,” she tells The Early Show. “But because they have been persistent enough, I have been forced to let my granddaughter go."

 

Madonna spokesperson Liz Rosenberg gave The Early Show a statement saying, "There is no evidence whatsoever that this man is the father of Mercy who has been in an orphanage since birth. … This is a story created by the media that has no influence on the ultimate ruling regarding Madonna’s appeal for custody. No family member has ever come forward to claim this child. And now some man appears out of a clear blue sky claiming to be the father."

 

The first part of the three-part interview aired this morning. Lovemore Munlo, the Malawian Chief Justice was scheduled to hear Madonna’s case, but it has been moved until 1 p.m. local time because John Gulumba, a lawyer appointed by Eye of the Child – the organization that is against the adoption – filed his court papers late.

Slumdog Dad Nabbed by Police

April 20th, 2009

Following an alleged attempt to sell his 9-year-old daughter, Slumdog Millionaire star Rubina Ali, to a Dubai sheikh for nearly $300,000, Rafiq Qureshi has been arrested by Indian police.

Britain’s The Sun is reporting that Rubina’s mother, Khurshida, is the one who made the call to police, saying she learned of the "adoption" from her eldest daughter and immediately filed a complaint.

"My elder daughter had informed me… I did not believe he would actually go through with it," said Khurshida, who left her husband in 2001.

The sheikh who nearly bought Rubina reportedly contacted Qureshi after learning of Slumdog’s Oscar wins back in February. His wife was no longer able to have children and wanted to adopt Rubina as his own. Qureshi is not budging from his claim that he refused the sheikh’s generous offer for the young girl.

"I politely said Rubina is happy with me and wanted to leave. After this they made an offer of money in English which I did not understand," explained her father.

"Then they requested me to leave her there overnight and take her in the morning. I refused and took Rubina away with me."

There is reportedly video of the undercover operation in which reporters met with Qureshi and expressed interest in illegally adopting the Slumdog star.

Amy Winehouse Wants to Be a Mom?

April 20th, 2009

File this one under Maybe Not the Best Idea: Amy Winehouse is said to be seeking to adopt a child from St. Lucia, her current vacation spot/home.

 

OK!’s British sister magazine reports from the UK that a source says, "Amy is seriously thinking about adopting. But she is aware it’s going to be incredibly difficult with her background."

 

Well, yeah, we can see that. Apparently the "Rehab" star has some mothering instincts she can’t ignore.

“She has always wanted to be a mother. She loves St. Lucia and would move there for good in order to adopt."
 

The maternal feelings apparently stem from her admiration of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who have adopted three children. Amy wants to help underprivileged kids on the island.

 
Amy’s spokesman revealed: "Amy was talking about adopting in the context of looking after children on the island, perhaps through some kind of music and education-based project."

Another impetus to her desire to be a parent could be reports alleging that her estranged husband Blake Fielder Civil is expecting a child with the woman he cheated on Amy with in rehab.

Madonna Adoption Appeal Set

April 20th, 2009

It’s only a matter of weeks before Madonna will begin the process of appealing the court verdict that denied her adoption of Malawian child, Mercy James.

 

The Associated Press reports that the pop star’s appeal will be heard by three judges on the Supreme Court of Appeal on May 4, but Madonna does not have to present at the time.

 

"As with all court cases involving infants, this one will be in chambers, not in an open court, Joseph Chigona, Registrar of the High Court tells the AP.

 

Madonna was in the country earlier this month in her attempt to adopt Chifundo "Mercy" James, 3. Her son David Banda was also adopted from Malawi in a highly controversial episode in 2006. Normal procedure in the country is for adoptive parents to live in the country for 18 to 24 months until their suitability is assessed. Madonna’s adoption of David did not conform to those guidelines.

 

"We believe the lower court judge erred by basing her judgment on an archaic law of over 50 years ago," says Madge’s lawyer, Alan Chinula, of her chances of bringing Mercy home.

Madonna said recently of her wishes to be a mother to Mercy, "I want to provide Mercy with a home, a loving family environment and the best education and health care possible. And it’s my hope that she, like David, will one day return to Malawi and help the people of their country."

 

 

MADONNA AND FAMILY IN MALAWI:


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Madonna Moving To Malawi?

April 10th, 2009

Apparently Madonna is buying a new home. No, it’s not another New York penthouse, London townhouse or a villa on Lake Como.

 

This time Madge is moving to the Third World.

Reports from Britain are claiming that Her Madgesty is building a "family home" in Malawi — the country that has just refused to allow her to adopt three-year-old Mercy James.

It’s said that Madonna thinks that it would be good for her youngest son David — who is also from Malawi — to have that "connection to his birthplace."

“Madonna has a big, beautiful plot of land over there already," a source has said. "She’s planning to build a girl’s school in the Chinkhota village and those designs are well under way.

“But she’s gone back to the designers and asked if they could accommodate a family home on the plot or on adjacent land.”

Earlier this month, a Malawian court told Madonna that she wouldn’t be allowed to take a second child from the country because she had not been a resident there for 18 months.

She has already launched an appeal against the decision.

 

Have a news tip or great photo you want to tell us about? Shoot us an e-mail: tips@okmagazine.com

 

PHOTOS OF MADONNA & FAMILY IN MALAWI:

Madonna in Malawi II

April 3rd, 2009

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Madonna Appeals Adoption Denial

April 3rd, 2009

Only hours after she had been denied the chance to adopt by a Malawian High Court, lawyers for Madonna have filed an appeal with the African nation’s Supreme Court.

"I just filed the notice of appeal this afternoon on instructions from my client," the singer’s legal eagle, Alan Chinula, told Reuters on Friday afternoon.

Earlier in the day, the High Court of Malawi denied the singer’s request to adopt a young orphaned girl.

"Anyone could come to Malawi and quickly arrange for an adoption that might have grave consequences on the very children that the law seeks to protect," Judge Esimie Chombo stated in her ruling.

Though Madge’s bid to adopt 4-year-old Mercy James has been a divisive issue in Malawi, the court’s decision comes as a bit of a suprise. Only yesterday, Malawian Information Minister Patricia Kaliati had come out in support of Madonna, saying that the Material Girl’s support for Malawian orphans had proven her worth as an adoptive mother.

However, it ultimately came down to the fact that Madonna did not fulfill the residency requirements for adopting a child in Malawi. The singer has no permanent home in the African nation, where a residency period of at least 18 months is usually required before being allowed to adopt.

Of course, the pop star was able to overcome this requirement when she adopted her first child from Malawi. In 2006, Madonna began the controversial process of becoming mom to infant boy David Banda. That adoption was not completed until 2008.

PHOTOS OF MADONNA & FAMILY IN MALAWI:

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