Madonna baby flown out of Malawi

A small private jet carrying the child, David Banda, and one of Madonna's bodyguards and her personal assistant took off this afternoon, believed to be heading for Johannesburg. An official at the airport in the Malawian capital Lilongwe said the child had a Malawian passport with an American visa.
The flight came after The Eye Of The Child, a children's rights group, said it was seeking "clarification" from the High Court in Lilongwe, as to how the singer gained preliminary custody of the child.

The U.S. Embassy would not comment, saying visa issues were private.

Boniface Mandere, of Eye Of The Child, claimed the legal process had been too short. "You cannot buy a child as if you are buying a house," he said. "I don't think that the High Court has any information about how Madonna is when it comes to child-rearing.

"We are concerned that the High Court has taken a short cut and waived the law. We are registering our concern and will seek clarification from the court, after which we will decide what action to take." A range of aid agencies, child charities and church groups in the impoverished east African country are said to have joined together to try to prevent what they claim are attempts to fast-track the adoption process and sidestep regulations.

According to newspaper reports, the legal challenge could mean that Madonna would have to live in Malawi for 18 months if she is determined to make the little boy part of her family. However legal experts said it was techincally legal for the star to take the child out of the country.
Madonna's spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, has confirmed the adoption plans, but said David did not leave with Madonna and her husband, Guy Ritchie, on Friday because final legal arrangements were still being made.

Malawian officials had indicated earlier that adoption regulations would be eased for Madonna and Ritchie, but refused to elaborate. Madonna's private plane had departed for an undisclosed destination just before 2am local time on Friday. Madonna and Ritchie have a son, Rocco, five, and the singer also has a daughter, Lourdes, nine.

David's father, Yohame Banda, said he was pleased the celebrity couple wanted his son, whose mother died just after childbirth. He said he met with them at court during the filing procedures. "They are a lovely couple," he said.

"She asked me many questions. She and her husband seem happy with David. I am happy for him.

Madonna promised me that as the child grows she will bring him back to visit."
Madonna's charity, Raising Malawi, is setting up an orphan care centre to provide food, education and shelter for up to 4,000 children. It will have projects based on Kabbalah, Judaism's mystical sect, which counts the 48-year-old singer among its devotees.

In an open letter to Madonna, Eye Of The Child had questioned whether foreign adoptions were in the best interests of children. But Mirriam Nyirongo, a retired nurse who runs an orphanage in the northern Malawian town of Mzuzu, said: "We must be frank. We can't afford to look after the thousands of babies that are being orphaned every day.

"If rich people like Madonna take just one child it will be a major boost for Malawi. For people like baby David, when they come to know their roots, might wish to do the same for others.