Madonna flies out after baby snub

Published on Sunday 5 April 2009 22:18

MADONNA left Malawi on her private jet yesterday after being rebuffed in an attempt to adopt a second child from the poor African nation.

Police roadblocks prevented reporters from approaching the airport, but one police officer said Madonna carried David, her adopted Malawian son, up the steps of the Gulfstream jet – which was bound for Gatwick Airport, air traffic officials said.

The singer's lawyer has said she will appeal against a court ruling that she is not eligible to adopt a three-year-old orphan girl, Chifundo "Mercy" James, as she has not lived in Malawi.

Madonna first spotted Mercy on a 2006 visit to an orphanage where she found David. Unlike now, she was then able to leave with the child – whose adoption was completed last year.

But now Madonna is a single mother after her split from film director Guy Ritchie, and her attempt to adopt a second such child has caused outrage among some child welfare groups.

In a ruling on Friday, Judge Esme Chombo said Madonna did not meet Malawi's strict definition of "resident".

Malawi requires prospective parents to live there for 18 to 24 months while child welfare authorities assess their suitability – a rule that was bent when David was taken to London in 2006.