Cell Phone: No ruling in Madonna case
Lilongwe - A judge in Malawi postponed a decision on Monday for another eight days over whether human rights groups can challenge Madonna’s bid to adopt an African baby, a court official said.
Judge Andrew Nyirenda was due to have ruled on Monday on whether a coalition of 67 rights groups could pursue their application for a review of an interim custody order.
But he will now give a decision on November 28, according to the official at the High Court in the administrative capital Lilongwe.
The coalition first lodged a petition before the court last month, claiming that existing legislation did not allow for intra-country adoptions and asking for the right to bring a full-fledged appeal at a later hearing.
The granting of an 18-month interim custody order, which enabled Madonna to take the child, David Banda, out of Malawi, sparked heated debate about adoption laws in a country where the number of orphans is surging as a result of Aids.
The 14-month-old baby, whose mother died shortly after his birth, is now living with Madonna and her British filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie at their home in London even though would-be adoptive parents are usually subject to an 18-month monitoring period by social workers in Malawi.
Madonna has denied using her vast wealth to fast-track the process while David’s father Yohane Banda has called on the coalition to drop their action over fear that the singer will return the child to a life of poverty back home.
It is the second time that the judge has adjourned a decision.
He was due to have given a ruling last Monday but adjourned proceedings for a week after the government-sponsored human rights commission also submitted an application for a hearing.