Father of infant Madonna snagged claims he didn’t consent to full adoption
Source: www.celebitchy.com
In a sad but predictable twist to the Maddona half-orphan adoption saga, the father of the baby Madonna whisked off to London claims he was misinformed about Madonna’s intentions with his 13 month-old boy. He was never given a copy of the papers singing over his child to the aging pop star, and was unable to understand them anyway as he does not speak or understand English. Representatives told him that Madonna was just looking after his boy and that he would return to help him on his farm, not that she would be taking permanent guardianship.
Yohane Banda says he was misled and never would have agreed to outright adoption:
“It would have been better for him to continue staying at the orphanage because I see no reason why my child should be given away forever when I can feed him,” he said, speaking at his village of Lipunga near the Zambia border late on Saturday.
Madonna, 48, has angered rights groups with her plan to adopt young David Banda, who left his native country on Tuesday last week for the entertainer’s home in London after she was granted temporary adoption rights by Malawi authorities.
The High Court in Lilongwe will on Friday start hearing the case lodged by the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC), an alliance of 67 human rights groups, which argues current Malawi laws forbid international adoption, even by celebrities.
Banda told Reuters he signed papers he could not understand, but government officials assured him that the agreement was similar to what he had with the orphanage — to nurture and educate the boy but not take him away for good.
“I cannot read and write so I relied on what the (government) officials told me that the papers said Madonna would look after the child the way the orphanage planned to educate him and then he comes back to me,” Banda said.
Asked if he had any copies of the agreements he signed with Madonna, Banda said: “I am still waiting to get my copies.”
He said the copies were still in the hands of the government officials who mediated the agreement. Banda said he would wait to see them before deciding what action to take after consultations with his mother and other family members.
This is somewhat of a departure from Banda’s earlier statements that he gave Madonna his blessing to look after his boy. It now seems that he thought Madonna was caring for the boy on his behalf, not that she would become his legal mother.
67 human rights groups are disputing Madonna’s adoption claim, saying that her fast-track adoption of the baby flouted the laws of Malawi and could result in human trafficking in the poor African nation. There will be a hearing to challenge Madonna’s adoption on October 27th.
Madonna will appear on Oprah to do PR damage control for her high-profile adoption this Wednesday. I would like to see some of the people in the audience boo her, but I know that’s not going to happen.
