Monday, 23 October 2006

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Boy's dad confused over Madonna adoption

I didn't realise the singer was taking him for good, says Yohane Banda

The father of the 1-year-old boy who Madonna plans to adopt is saying he didn’t realize the pop singer was taking the toddler "for good," the Associated Press reports.

"Our understanding was that they would educate and take care of our son just as they were doing at the orphanage," Yohane Banda, 32, told AP in a telephone interview on Sunday. "I am just realizing now the meaning of adoption."

The statement is a shift from earlier remarks Banda made when he struck out at human rights groups that have tried to stop Madonna from adopting his son, David.

"As David's father I have no problem (with the adoption), so what is their concern?" he told PEOPLE last week. "Are they jealous or what? What I want is good life, a good education for my child."

On Sunday however, Banda said he was confused about the meaning of the adoption papers he signed earlier this month in court, which allowed a Malawian judge to grant the singer and her husband, Guy Ritchie, a temporary order to take David, who was flown to England where the couple and their two children live.

"If we were told that she wants to take the baby as her own we could not have consented, because I see no reason why I should give away my son," said Banda, who put David into the orphanage when he was an infant. David's mother died a week after his birth.

Still, Banda said he does not want David to return to the orphanage. "We are still thankful Madonna has rescued him from poverty and disease; we pray for the good Lord to keep blessing her for her benevolence," Banda said.

Madonna's Malawian lawyer Alan Chinula had no comment when reached by the AP.

Last week, in a message titled "An Open Letter from Madonna," the singer said: "After learning that there were over one million orphans in Malawi, it was my wish to open up our home and help one child escape an extreme life of hardship, poverty and in many cases death, as well as expand our family."