Madonna denies she is planning to adopt two more Malawian children
Madonna denies she is planning to adopt two more Malawian children
US Pop Star Madonna (C) interacts with Malawian children at Mkoko Primary School on April 2, 2013 in the region of Kasungu, central Malawi, one of the schools Madonna's Raising Malawi organization has built jointly with US organization BuildOn. Madonna, said to be the single largest international philanthropic donor to Malawi, also supports childcare in the country which is home to nearly a million children orphaned by AIDS. She arrived in Malawi on March 31 with the two children she adopted from the small landlocked African country.
Madonna has denied applying to a Malawian court to adopt two more children.
Media reports earlier said the US pop star had applied in person for a third time to adopt youngsters in the southern African country.
Madonna already has two adopted Malawian children, David Banda and Mercy James, which she applied for in 2006 and 2009 respectively.
Local reports said Madonna appeared before Justice Fiona Mwale in the capital Lilongwe amid tight security.
They said she was accompanied by two unidentified children and several other people, before being driven away in a 4×4 vehicle.
Malawi judiciary spokesman, Mlenga Mvula, also told news outlets the singer had “filed an application expressing interest to adopt two more kids from Malawi”.
When the reports emerged, Madonna made a statement saying she was in the country strictly for her charity work.
She told People magazine: “I am in Malawi to check on the children’s hospital in Blantyre and my other work with Raising Malawi and then heading home.
"The Papa Don’t Preach singer, who also went to Malawi in 2016, has been criticised in the past by its former president for behaving inappropriately.“The rumours of an adoption process are untrue.”
She was stripped of her VIP status by ex-leader Joyce Banda in 2013 and was accused of being “uncouth” and demanding eternal gratitude from the impoverished country for adopting the children.
Ms Banda was ousted in 2014 elections and the new president, Peter Mutharika, moved to repair relations, saying the government had “always been grateful for the passion Madonna has for this country”.
Madonna, who had a daughter with ex-lover Carlos Leon and a son with former husband Guy Ritchie, is reportedly among the biggest individual donors to children’s projects.
She founded the non-profit group Raising Malawi in 2006 to provide health and education programmes aimed mostly at girls.
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