Just when you thought that this whole kerfuffle about Madonna sneaking into Malawi at night and making off with a baby – or something – had died down, a judge in Malawi has decided that Madonna better get ready to fight for him in court.
Ever since Madonna took baby David Banda back to England to see if his new wardrobe of unsettling leotards fitted properly, a coalition of 67 Human Rights groups had been waiting to see if a court would allow them to proceed with a legal challenge against Madonna's adoption, and today the presiding judge ruled that they're free to put the legal challenge into action. The good news for the Human Rights groups is that they're only limited to legal challenges, and it's just as well – in a physical challenge they would stand a chance. We saw Madonna's concert on TV this weekend, and Madonna totally Tai-Boed like 20 dancers in the face during the breakdown of Sorry.
Back when Madonna first adopted David Banda from his Malawi orphanage, the questions on everyone's lips were "is Madonna being a good human being or is she just following a fad for adopting brown babies?" and "Will David Banda be better off with Madonna or the community that's helping to raise him now?" And those questions were discussed to death – even on supposedly serious TV shows like Newsnight that got all giddy because it meant they could interview someone marginally more important that the Shadow Secretary Of State For Constitutional Affairs for once. But now that Madonna has been granted interim custody of David Banda and taken him back to her giant Batcave in the British countryside, word of Madonna's adoption is only met with one question: "Oh Christ, this again?"
The ins and outs of Madonna's adoption of David Banda have been gone over time and time again. Everybody knows that Guy Ritchie wasn't too happy about the adoption but he's OK about it now and that Yohane Banda – David Banda's father – got a bit confused about what 'adoption' actually meant but he's also OK about it now.
But the Human Rights people, they're still not really that OK about Madonna adopting David Banda. Back when Madonna first got her claws on David Banda several Human Rights banded together to all screech "Noooo!" into the sky and hammer the ground with their fists in despair. Following that, the Human Rights coalition decided to launch legal proceedings against what they perceive to be Madonna's bending of international adoption rules. Only trouble is, the Human Rights groups needed the Malawi court to grant them permission to do so.
And after one lame adjournment and one even lamer "oops, I really have to be at a conference" excuse, a judge in charge of a Malawi court has finally decided that the Human Rights coalition can continue with their legal challenge, as BBC News reports:
Judge Andrew Nyirenda in the Malawian capital, Lilongwe, ruled that the groups could be regarded as "friends of the court" and so could pursue their application for a full review of the interim custody order. "The applications from both applicants are accordingly granted and they are both joined as amicus curiae," said the judgement, according to the AFP news agency. The 67 groups wanted to be party to the assessment of the singer's fitness as a mother.
What happens next is anybody's guess. It's hard to imagine that the coalition will be prepared to tug David Banda from his new millionaire lifestyle with Madonna and plonk him back in the middle of an orphanage where his life expectancy will be a great deal shorter if they win their legal challenge. Perhaps they'll try and get David a transfer to Shakira or, if things go really badly, The Cheeky Girls.
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