A Malawian court has ruled that Madonna has failed in her attempt to adopt, some would say buy, a girl from Malawi.
The Associated Press reports: "A judge and a lawyer say Madonna's application to adopt a second child from Malawi has been rejected because of a requirement that prospective parents be resident in the country for 18 to 24 months. The judge who spoke did not make the ruling, but saw it. The lawyer was present when the ruling was made. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the case."
This will surprise many, given that the Malawian government had backed the pop singer's bid to adopt a second child from the southern African country.
The Malawian information minister, Patricia Kaliati, said earlier this week: "Madonna has been good to us, she is supporting over 25,000 orphans in this country and she has proved that she can take care of David. Very few rich and famous people can take time to fly all the way to Malawi to support our children. We support her adoption process."
The government came under fire after Madonna adopted a 13-month-old Malawian child, David Banda, in 2006.
Rights groups have opposed her latest attempt, with some allegedly saying that it verges "on a puppy parade".
Sol, commenting before today's development, said on the gossip and entertainment website celebitchy: "I'm tired of celebrities flying to third world countries and just picking a kid as if it was an open supermarket!! Money or better education in no means is the best for a child, there is much more than living like a celebrity."
Today's ruling, if confirmed, may give some comfort to those concerned about the ease of acquiring children in Africa and elsewhere. Yet, jumping through the bureaucratic hurdles required to adopt children from your own country is not always possible.
"The key thing is to give a child a great start in life," says the Tory MP Michael Gove, who was adopted at the age of four months. "The ideal, of course, is to place an adopted child with a family whose circumstances and background match its own, but in the search for that match it is often black and Asian children who suffer. The longer they are in care, the more difficulties occur."
