Log in • Subscribe

Madonna Officially Wins Bid To Adopt Mercy James

By PinkIsTheNewBlog.com • on June 12, 2009

After being initially denied by the Malawian adoption court earlier this year, the appeals court has today ruled that Madonna can — at last — formally adopt Chifundo Mercy James after all. Earlier this week we heard a report that stated that the appeals court had decided to approve Madonna’s appeal but the announcement was held until today. After years of wrangling to add Mercy James to her family, Madonna has finally won her bid … Mercy James will officially become Madonna’s daughter:
Madonna can get “Mercy,” Malawi’s highest court ruled Friday. The court overruled a lower court, saying the pop star can adopt 3-year-old Chifundo “Mercy” James. Madonna’s lawyer Alan Chinula said he called her with the news “in the wee hours of morning in New York, but she is excited at the news.” Chinula said he would now arrange a passport for Chifundo, which could take several days, and was awaiting word from Madonna on travel plans for the girl … Peter Baneti, an uncle, said the family welcomed Friday’s ruling. “We hope Mercy will be joining Madonna soon,” he said by phone from his village just outside Blantyre. Madonna adopted a son, David, from Malawi last year, but her request to adopt Mercy was originally rejected in April when a lower court that said the star had not spent enough time in Malawi. But Chief Justice Lovemore Munlo, reading the three-judge appeal court panel’s ruling on Friday, said that was a narrow interpretation based on old laws and that “in this global village a man can have more than one place at which he resides.” He said the singer’s commitment to helping disadvantaged children also should have been taken into account in the decision. Madonna has founded a charity, Raising Malawi, which helps feed, educate and provide medical care for some of Malawi’s more than 1 million orphans, half of whom have lost a parent to AIDS … Chinula said that with Friday’s ruling, the adoption was final, as he had requested of the court. This could not immediately be confirmed. When Madonna adopted David, the process took months and included a child welfare official’s visit to Madonna’s home, which then was in London, to review her fitness as a mother. Chinula said none of this would be necessary this time. “What the Supreme Court has done is grant a full adoption,” he said. The appeal court ruling took more than an hour to read in court. “The matter of residence should be determined at the time of application of the adoption,” Chief Justice Munlo read. “In this case, Madonna was in Malawi not by chance but by intention. She is looking after several orphans whose welfare depends on her. She can therefore not be described as a sojourner.” The ruling also said the judges saw only two optio….