Madonna has returned to the UK without four year-old Mercy after filing an appeal against a judge’s ruling that she is barred from adopting the child. The 50 year-old superstar violated adoption regulations by not residing in the country for 18 to 24 months, and judge Esme Chombo said in her ruling on Friday that allowing Madonna to leave with Mercy against the law could make the children of Malawi vulnerable to human trafficking.

Guy Ritchie has hugs for sons, cold shoulder for Madonna
Ex husband Guy Ritchie met Madonna’s private plane at the airport. He was seen hugging his adopted son David Banda and looking incredibly happy to see him, but seemed to ignore Madonna. Ritchie issued a positive statement in support of Madonna after her adoption bid was denied.

Madonna screamed “What?” after learning of ruling
Madonna is said to have screamed “What?” and to have been shaking after hearing the news. She was not present at the hearing and was given the bad news by her lawyer, who cockily said before the hearing that “I don’t see any law in Malawi that can stop this adoption.”

Mercy: “Where’s my mum?”
In her bid to adopt Mercy, Madonna was repeating the same mistakes she made in her adoption of David Banda, who has a living father who wasn’t aware he was signing away all rights to his son. Mercy’s grandmother has said that she doesn’t want the girl to leave the country, and refused to sign adoption papers. Many of us were rejoicing at learning that Madonna couldn’t spirit away a little girl at whim. She seemed so arrogant and determined to have her way and to thumb her nose at Malawi’s adoption laws yet again.

There’s an innocent little girl involved here though, and although we may be happy that Madonna can’t flout the law we have to think what’s best for the child. Mercy stayed with Madonna and her children while the singer was in the country and got to know them as her future family. This is no triumph for Mercy, who is said to have been confused by Madonna and her family’s departure and to have cried “Where’s my mummy?” when Madonna left. Mercy was told that she would be leaving for a new life, and this has got to be upsetting and confusing for her. I don’t blame the judge as much as I blame Madonna for not even trying to stay in Malawi for even part of the time required for non-famous parents.

Mercy’s father found
Mercy’s biological father has been found, and he doesn’t want his little girl to leave the country either. The Daily Mail has a statement from Mercy’s dad along with the account of how now 24 year-old James Kambewa fell in love with Mercy’s mom Mwandida when she was just 15. That means James was 20 when he romanced the schoolgirl.

Mwandida fell pregnant by James and was forced to drop out of school and stay with her family. Her former roommate told The Mail that she was a smart girl who came from humble beginnings and worked hard at school. Mwandida delivered her baby at home with only her mother present, and she died a few days after childbirth.

James fled the town out of disgrace after Mwandida’s pregnancy. He now lives in a remote village and works as a night watchman. He says he is pleased to learn that his child is alive and that he wants to be part of her life:

Mwandida died eight days after giving birth. James has never been seen in the family’s home village of Thwonde in southern Malawi since the outcry and until yesterday he had no idea that a wealthy pop star was planning to adopt Mercy, whom he has never seen.

James, who has a casual job as a night watchman, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I am longing to hear more about Mercy. I was never allowed to see her and now I am determined to make up for that.

‘Her family was very angry with me when Mwandida became pregnant. My own relatives advised me to leave town. It was a big scandal – both of us were in disgrace.

‘Now I hear that my little girl will be famous, and best of all I can form some bond with her at last.’

James, who lives in a one-room hut with two male friends in a poor area of the nearby city, added: ‘I need to think about what all this means. I need to try and make sense of it…’

Mercy’s 70-year-old grandmother said she believed it was God’s will that the High Court had ruled against Madonna’s adoption.

Lucy Chekechiwa said: ‘I accept whatever God has prepared for us. She can start primary school and be part of our family again.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Mercy will stay at the orphanage where she was raised until she is six, at which point The Mail notes that “she is expected to have developed resistance to the fatal childhood diseases such as malaria that are endemic in Malawi.”

There are enough relatives who want the child to stay in Malawi, including her grandmother and now her father. It is not up to Madonna to say whether the child will have a better life with her if there are blood relatives who want to care for the girl. While Madonna has provided David a privileged and happy childhood, I couldn’t help but notice how much wonder and longing you could see in photos of David’s biological father when he saw his son.

To people who say David’s father should have kept his infant son instead of giving him up to an orphanage – most of us cannot imagine the level of poverty that forces someone to give up a child. David’s mother died in childbirth and his father could not afford the milk to feed the baby and he had no cow. He was afraid that his son would have died in his care. Madonna wanted that boy and she gave him a good life. She also could have given his father a cow or a goat and ensured that he was well cared for by his own family. Do you think she’ll send a small amount of money or livestock to Mercy’s family to ensure that the girl she considers her daughter is fed and clothed, or do you think she’ll just continue to fight the ruling, ignoring the wishes of Mercy’s grandmother and father and getting her way at any cost?

Here’s Madonna at an adoption hearing at the Malawi High Court in Lilongwe last Monday. Photo thanks to Fame Pictures .