Justice Andrew Nyirenda ruled on Wednesday that the Human Rights Consultative Committee and the state-run Malawi Human Rights Commission could join the adoption process as friends of the court and could pursue their application for a full judicial review of the interim custody order he earlier granted to Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie.
The rights groups say they are concerned that the government had cut legal corners to fast-track the adoption. They said that while they do not object to Madonna as a prospective parent, regulations must be followed to protect children.
Chinula said the challenge would help clarify Malawi’s "antiquated laws" on adoption, and that the Madonna case will be a "guiding case for future adoptions."
Yohane Banda -- the 32-year-old biological father of the 14-month-old David -- said that he hoped the celebrity case would lead to reforms to make it easier for foreigners to adopt Malawian children.
"In Malawi, there are to many underprivileged children, most of them orphans. I appeal to rich people with Madonna’s kind heart to come and adopt these children."
Madonna ruling expected today - Nov 20 2006
A judge will rule today on whether human rights groups in Malawi can challenge Madonna over her adoption of baby David Banda.
A coalition of 67 organisations claims that "bending of laws and fast-tracking" allowed the pop queen to adopt the toddler.
A first hearing was adjourned last week at Malawi’s High Court in Lilongwe.
Today, the judge is due to rule on whether to allow the legal challenge.
The human rights groups claim Madonna used her wealth to bypass the usual laws which state adoptive parents must live in the south-eastern African country for 18 months.
The singer and her husband Guy Ritchie were granted an interim order on October 12 allowing them temporary custody of David.
The little boy was then granted a passport and flown to Madonna’s London home.
David’s father, peasant farmer Yohane Banda, has claimed he did not know the singer would be taking his son "for good".
David makes famous friends? - Nov 18 2006
It seems little David Banda has finally made his debut on the London social scene, a month after he was adopted by Madonna.
The 14-month-old Malawian boy has apparently made friends with Gwyneth Paltrow’s eight-month-old son Moses.
The Sun reports David and Moses met this week at the north London house Gwyneth shares with husband Chris Martin and daughter Apple, two.
David Banda has also played with Stella McCartney’s 18-month-old son Miller and Kate Winslet’s two-year-old son Joe, according to the paper.
A source said: "She was keen for David to get friends of his own age group."
Since he arrived from his Malawian orphanage in October, David has only had his big siblings to play with.
Madonna already has a daughter, Lourdes, known as Lola, 10, from her relationship with personal trainer Carlos Leon, and six-year-old son, Rocco, with husband Guy Ritchie.
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The following year Madonna broke away from Kamins and recorded Holiday which went straight in to the American top 20 and was a hit across Europe. She cemented her raunchy image with Like A Virgin, her first US number one, and Material Girl with it’s iconic video. By this time Madonna was becoming one of the most emulated and best loved artists in the world and she became even more popular thanks to her part in Live Aid and a high profile marriage to Sean Penn.
The pop diva followed up her success with several singles from the True Blue album and turned her hand to acting for the first time in the poorly received A Certain Sacrifice and of course, Desperately Seeking Susan. Her first real flop was alongside her husband in the laughable Shanghai Surprise. Her failure’s in the film department didn’t stop David Mamet from casting her in a Broadway production of Speed the Plow - by this time talent or no, Madonna’s was name that guaranteed attention.
1989 saw the singer court controversy with the video for Like A Prayer, featuring a black Jesus, which outraged and shocked the Catholic church and caused Pepsi to cancel a sponsorship deal. But far from ruining her career, this stunt saw her become the icon that we know today. The 1990s were the pinnacle of Madonna’s success, her divorce from Sean Penn pushing her further in to the lime light, beginning with a part in Dick Tracy opposite Warren Beatty and a fantastic soundtrack album alongside featuring hit song Vogue. Documentary film Truth or Dare and her Blonde Ambition tour (with that pointy bra) followed with further controversy.
In 1992 she signed a multi million pound deal with Time Warner guaranteeing the release of music, films and books through her own record label, Maverick. She made the most of the deal with picture book Sex, which caused another controversy but rocketed up the bestsellers charts nonetheless. Erotica was her first album for years though not to generate a US number one. People thought that perhaps Madonna had gone too far with her need to shock, and perhaps she had realised it too as her next album was far mellower and a part in Evita in 1996 made her bankable again.
Later that year she fell pregnant with Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, daughter of her personal trainer. But far from slowing her work, having a child only seemed to spur Madonna on, she released the runaway success, Ray of Light which produced hit after hit and recorded Beautiful Stranger for the second Austin Powers movie. she also starred alongside Rupert Everett in romantic comedy The Next Best Thing.
It was around this time that Madonna met British director Guy Ritchie - the man who would change her life. They had son Rocco in 2000 and they married in 2002 after Madonna moved permanently to England, took to wearing flat caps and drinking tea. The title track of her album Music gave her a transatlantic number one hit. Collaborations with Ritchie, especially their film Swept Away, have generally been unsuccessful but Madonna’s music career continues to go from strength to strength, her latest album American Life has been a worldwide hit and she has even found time to pen a children’s book, The English Roses. Now, an honorary Brit and devout follower of Kaballah, Madonna lives with her family in Marylebone and Wiltshire. She also owns a ?4 million Spanish-style villa in Beverly Hills, a house in Miami and a duplex overlooking Central Park in New York.
(Updated April 04)
October 2007