Queen of Pop Madonna has failed in her bid to adopt a young girl from Malawi.
The singer is already the legal guardian of David Banda, a young boy from the African country. She had expressed a desire to adopt another child from the impoverished nation, this time a four year old girl named Chifundo (Mercy) James.
Madonna’s bid to adopt the girl has been dogged with controversy. Some officials in Malawi felt that given the singer’s recent divorce from Guy Ritchie, and a much rumoured fling with a married baseball player, Madonna would not be suitable to act as a role model.
However, other organisations expressed a desire to see Madonna adopt the child stating that she could offer Mercy James a much better quality of life than she would otherwise find in Malawi.
Now it seems that Madonna has failed in her bid to adopt the child. A judge and a lawyer unconnected to the case are thought to have leaked the decision to the press, with Associated Press reporting that the law in the country states adoptive parents must be resident in the country for 18 to 24 months.
Why the same officials allowed her to adopt one child but not another under the same set of rules is open to debate.
According to reports judge Esmie Chondo ended the hearing by declaring “I must have to decline to grant the application to Madonna.”
Madonna has yet to comment on the verdict.
