Madonna launches appeal against adoption rejection

Monday, May 4, 2009 at 6:04 AM Posted by Beijing News


Lawyers for US star Madonna on Monday launched an appeal against a court's rejection of attempt to adopt a second Malawian child.

Lawyer Alan Chinula sought to convince Malawi's Supreme Court that a judge was wrong to deny her application last month to adopt three-year-old Chifundo "Mercy" James.

Madonna was not present, but Chief Justice Lovemore Munlo adjourned the proceedings after only 30 minutes to give the star's lawyers more time to view documents served on them by the country's Human Rights Commission which is opposing the adoption.

"We are in the dark about the bunch of documents served on us," Chinula told the court.

Last month, Lilongwe high court judge Esmie Chombo threw out Madonna's adoption application, warning that the case could open the door to trafficking in children.

According to a court sheet, Chinula said he would argue that Judge Chombo had erred on seven points when he rejected the adoption bid. Three supreme court judges, headed by Munlo, are hearing the appeal.

Twenty-four-year-old James Kambewa vowed at the weekend to stop Madonna from adopting the girl, saying he was her biological father.

A Human Rights Commission lawyer, Ulemu Kammayani has questioned Kambewa's claims that he can take care of Mercy.

"Where was he all this time. Does he have the capacity to look after the child," asked Kammayani.

The commission wants the country's highest court to uphold the rejection of the pop singer's first adoption bid.

Kambewa claims that he thought the child, whom he has never seen, "had died," added Kammayani.

The claim that he is a biological father "cannot be an issue now. The court cannot raise new issues and it will be difficult to influence the court, It's too late now," said Kammayani.

Kambewa, who earns about 80 dollars a month as a domestic worker in the commercial capital Blantyre, said he had not seen Mercy since her mother gave birth to her and died shortly afterwards.

On Sunday, Kambewa told AFP that "I want Mercy back." He added that he wanted to take care of the girl.

He said he abandoned the baby after the parents of Mercy's mother accused him of killing their daughter because she had died soon after giving birth.

When he learned that Madonna wanted to adopt Mercy, he said, "I discovered it was my daughter and vowed to see if could bring her to my home."

Children rights activists have opposed Madonna's effort to adopt Mercy. The singer adopted David Banda in Malawi in 2006.

While the group will not assist Kambewa, Eye of the Child wants to convince the supreme court that "the judge did not err at all when she rejected Madonna to adopt Mercy," Matewere said.



South Korean dancers perform a traditional dance during a memorial service in Seoul. AFP/Kim Jae-Hwan

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