Father of Madonna's adopted baby says he didn't know she was taking him 'for good'

buttmunch · October 23rd, 2006, 03:40 AM

Quote:

The father of the toddler adopted by Madonna has claimed he never meant to give him away for good.

Yohane Banda, speaking from his village in Malawi, said Madonna had asked that she be allowed to raise his one-year-old son David on his behalf, rather than make him her own.

He said he was consulting his family to decide what to do next, raising the prospect that he might withdraw his approval for the adoption.

Mr Banda's statement is a major shift from his remarks last week, in which he criticised human rights groups that had tried to stop Madonna taking the child to England.

He declared: "Had they told us that Madonna wanted to adopt my son and make him her own son, we would not have agreed to that.

"It would have been better for him to continue staying at the orphanage because I see no reason why my child should be given away forever when I can feed him," he said in his local language of Chichewa.

Mr Banda made his declaration to a Reuters television reporter at his village of Lipunga near the Zambian border.

Madonna, 48, has angered African charities with her plan to adopt David, who was flown from Malawi on Tuesday last week to her London home after she was granted temporary adoption rights.

On Friday the High Court in Malawi's capital Lilongwe will start hearing the case lodged by the Human Rights Consultative Committee, an alliance of 67 human rights groups.

It argues current Malawian law forbids international adoption, even by celebrities.

Mr Banda, a 32-year-old farmer, said he had signed papers he could not understand but government officials had assured him the agreement was similar to what he had with the orphanage.

This was to nurture and educate the boy but not take him away for good.

"I cannot read and write so I relied on what the (government) officials told me, that the papers said Madonna would look after the child the way the orphanage planned to educate him and then he comes back to me," Mr Banda said.

Asked if he had any copies of the agreements he had signed with Madonna, he replied: "I am still waiting to get my copies."

'I am just realising now the meaning of adoption'

He said the paperwork was in the hands of the government officials who mediated the agreement.

He said he would wait to see them before deciding what action to take after consultations with his mother and other family members.

Government officials were not available to comment yesterday.

Mr Banda said he had given his son to the orphanage where Madonna saw him mainly for medical care and milk.

His mother had died of malaria days after the birth. He had also lost two children to the disease.

"We sent this child to an orphanage because at one month we could not look after him.

"We did not have a health centre nearby and the orphanage was the ideal place for him," he said.

Madonna, who is married to the British film director Guy Ritchie, hopes to make David a brother to her ten-year-old daughter Lourdes and son, Rocco, six.

She has denied cutting corners to speed up the adoption process.

David will stay with the family for 18 months and be monitored by Malawian officials before final approval for him to officially join the Ritchies.

Mr Banda said he had not been able to explain his position better-before because the public interest had focused on David and Madonna.

"What we agreed with Madonna was that she looks after my child until he finishes school, becomes independent and comes back home to us," he said.

Until now, Mr Banda has defended his decision as being in the best interests of his son.

But over the weekend, in another interview, he claimed the authorities had never told him that 'adoption' meant David would cease to be his son.

"I am just realising now the meaning of adoption," he said.

Madonna's Malawian lawyer, Alan Chinula, refused to comment, saying he had not received any further instructions.

He insisted, however, that the singer had followed all the correct procedures in the adoption process.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1770

Sounds like Baby Dave's daddy smells some money in this.

Manboob · October 23rd, 2006, 07:48 AM

How cynical!

I bet he'll turn up in a celebrity reality TV show soon.

Although I can kind of believe him and I think Madonna's a total bitch to have taken a child that isn't even an orphan. If she was that taken with him why not support his father so he could be brought up at home? I wish she'd be charged with something. Anything!

PinkCadillac · October 23rd, 2006, 10:01 AM

An african child seems like the latest celeb accessory.

leapinglilies · October 23rd, 2006, 10:11 AM

i heard it was all fuggin' angies fault. vadge was gonna adopt a kid in the states and angie whined at her for it...

southernbelle · October 23rd, 2006, 10:26 AM

Basically, they took advantage of this man's lack of education and/or the language barrier and lied to him in order to get him to consent to this adoption. I wish that he would press charges. Honestly, I'm glad to see that Madonna's latest cry for attention is backfiring horribly and everyone is starting to see her for the selfish, attention hungry bitch that she is.

Mel1973 · October 23rd, 2006, 11:04 AM

You know what? I am so not a supporter of Madonna, but this guy is about as full of shit as a Christmas turkey! Fucking liar! He knew, I saw them interview this dipshit on tv and he was ALL Fucking For the adoption. Now, he wants to be on tv so all the world can feel sorry that he was taken advantage of - well, fuck that! YOU gave your KID to MADONNA, you fucking idiot - live with it!

vballchica134 · October 23rd, 2006, 11:05 AM

I don't know if he ever knew what was happening because he's changed his story a few times now.

Mel1973 · October 23rd, 2006, 11:06 AM

there you have it, he's a liar!!!

Pippin · October 23rd, 2006, 11:10 AM

He will probably try to hit Mandonga up for money.

Manboob · October 23rd, 2006, 11:23 AM

Can you blame him, though? He hasn't enough resources to feed himself and one child. He's lost two children and his wife.

I wouldn't begrudge him a tiny bit of good fortune ... if that's what you can call having your remaining child go and live with a crazy person and probably never see him again.

aabbcc · October 23rd, 2006, 11:52 AM

She has denied cutting corners to speed up the adoption process.

That's why she is abiding by Malawi law and spending 18 months living in their country? Hmmm?

sputnik · October 23rd, 2006, 11:58 AM

oh please, why do people adopt in the third world to begin with? it's easier, cheaper and quicker than doing it at home. as for the laws on the books, they don't mean anything and it's well known you have to grease a few palms to get things done. people are just raising a stink about it because it's madonna. i'm not saying it's perfect and that it should continue to be like this but as long as these are developing countries and poverty is rampant, there will be corruption and that is the only way you get things done. and when you see the conditions of most orphanages, most people would agree that these kids are better off with a family that wants them and will take care of them, and not some filthy orphanage or a biological family that doesn't have the means to take care of them.

ninetynine · October 23rd, 2006, 12:06 PM

"It argues current Malawian law forbids international adoption, even by celebrities."

LMAO!

buttmunch · October 23rd, 2006, 12:35 PM

Whether or not he's lying or Madonna messed with the rules, the kid is going to be the loser here. Poor kid.

Mel1973 · October 23rd, 2006, 12:41 PM

Of course she did - I just don't buy that he was unaware of what adoption meant. Come on, surely everyone can see that? We're talking about a child here - not an inanimate object that can be traded back and forth. I think he knew what adoption meant, I think he knew - maybe he had second thoughts afterwards, but I think he knew. Wasn't it just last week that he was glad that Madonna had taken his baby?