Posts Tagged ‘malawi’

Madonna’s New Daughter Lands in London

June 22nd, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff

Madonna’s new daughter was flown out of Malawi to London over the weekend. Three-year-old Chifundo “Mercy” James, left late on Friday, stopping in neighbouring South Africa, before reaching the UK.

The girl, who is the second child Madonna has adopted from Malawi, was reportedly accompanied on the plane by a nanny, a child nurse and a third aide.

Madonna, her daughter Lourdes, 12, and sons Rocco, eight, and three-year-old David Banda, flew into London from New York earlier that day.

But Mercy might not get to see much of her new mum over the next few weeks, as the singer embarks on a seven-week European tour on July 4.

A therapist has been enlisted to help Mercy adjust to her new life.

A source revealed: "Madonna realizes this is too much change and adjustment for such a young child."

"The Kabbalah leaders in New York have helped her choose a leading child therapist to work with Mercy and facilitate her transition into life Madonna-style."

Mercy’s 18-year-old mother, Mwandidar, died when the girl was only one year old.

Malawi Court Approves Madonna Adoption

June 12th, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff

It’s a happy day for Madonna, who was finally granted her wish by the Supreme Court of Malawi on Friday morning, allowing the pop superstar to move forward with her adoption of a 4-year-old girl Chifundo Mercy James from the African nation.

In his ruling, which overturns a lower court decision blocking Madge from adopting her second Malawian child, Chief Justice Lovemore Munlo writes, "We find the judge in the lower court to have dwelled so much on media reports on the issue of residence and to us this was not evidence enough to deny Madonna a chance to adopt Mercy James. We therefore grant Madonna the adoption order… Madonna has shown that she is bold, and compassionate enough to come forward to adopt Chifundo James."

Predictably, the pop star is pleased. "I’ve just talked to Madonna and she’s very excited about this news," her lawyer Alan Chinula told Reuters.

In 2006, Madonna adopted then 1-year-old boy David Banda from Malawi and was accused of using her fame to get around residency rules governing 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.

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 Pleads for Mercy

April 13th, 2009

Though she was recently rejected by a Malawian high court in her bid to adopt a second child — a girl named Mercy James — from the African nation, Madonna has resorted to pleading her case in the press.

"I want to provide Mercy with a home, a loving family environment and the best education and healthcare possible," she’s quoted as saying in the Nation on Sunday newspaper. The Material Girl also says that it’s her hope that both Mercy and her other adopted child David "will one day return to Malawi and help the people of their country."

Madge even admits that she probably should be keeping her mouth shut, but feels compelled to speak out on the subject. "Though I have been advised that I cannot publicly discuss the pending appeal regarding my desire to adopt Mercy, I do want to say how much I appreciate the level of support that I have received from the people of Malawi and my friends around the world."

Madonna is currently awaiting a decision on her appeal to the Malawian Supreme Court on her bid to adopt Mercy.

PHOTOS OF MADONNA & FAMILY IN MALAWI:

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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