Confirmed, Madonna Adopting Malawian Child Mercy James

Sat, 28 March 2009 02:58:36 ET

'The adoption is going ahead,' says Penstone Kilembe, Malawi's Director of Child Welfare Service, confirming about Madonna's adoption to Mercy James.

Malawian officials have said that Madonna is adopting a 3-year-old girl, Mercy James. "The adoption is going ahead," Malawi's Director of Child Welfare Services, Penstone Kilembe, tells Us Magazine. "It has been at an advanced stage for some time".

An official at the ministry of Gender and Child Development told Reuters that the adoption hearing for the orphan girl is set to be held on Monday, March 30. Previously, Malawian government didn't encourage any kids to be adopted by Madonna as she has been romantically linked to many guys. "Our official policy is that we do not encourage our children to be sent into broken homes," a senior official from Malawi's Ministry of Women and Child Welfare Development said of the singer. "Her relationships may negatively affect the adoption of Mercy".

New York Daily News reported earlier this week that Madonna, who recently ended her romance with boy toy Jesus Luz, attempted to adopt an African child again following David Banda's adoption in 2006. "Many people...especially our Malawian friends...say that David should have a Malawian brother or sister," she told Malawi's The Nation newspaper. "It's something I have been considering but would only do if I had the support of the Malawian people and the government."

« Older

Newer »