A Malawian judge rejected Madonna's bid to adopt a 3-year-old girl, Mercy James, from the country because the singer did not fulfill a residency requirement for foreign adopters. Photo Credit: Splash News
April 03, 2009, (Sawf News) - A Malawian judge rejected Madonna's bid to adopt a 3-year-old girl, Mercy James, from the country because the singer did not fulfill a residency requirement for foreign adopters.
Malawian law mandates that foreign adopters spend 18-24 months living in the country with the children they want to adopt.
The residency rule was waived when Madonna adopted 3-year-old son David Banda, with then husband Guy Ritchie, from the country in 2006.
Explaining why she ruled differently, judge Esme Chombo said child welfare officers are required to find suitable prospective parents and "not someone who just flies in and out."
"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," Chombo said.
"I think the welfare of Chifundo [African for 'Mercy'] will be better served if she grows within the environment of the culture of Malawi."
Malawi's government had expressed support for the adoption on Thursday. "We have close to 2 million orphans in Malawi who need help," Women and Child Welfare Development Minister Anna Kachikho told the AP. "We can't look after all of them as a country. If people like Madonna adopt even one such orphan, it's one mouth less we have to feed."
Madonna was visibly disappointed by the ruling when informed about it by her Malawian lawyer.
She "kept wringing her hands," a source at Kumbali Lodge, where the pop star is staying, told People.
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