Last week, Yohane Banda, the father of David Banda whom Madonna is in the process of adopting, was defending Madonna's plans and railed against human rights groups who were standing in Madonna's way. Now he's singing a different tune.
In an interview with Reuters Television in his home village of Lipunga on Saturday, Yohane Banda said Madonna asked that she be able to raise his one-year-old son on his behalf, rather than that the child should become her own."Had they told us that Madonna wanted to adopt my son and make him her own son, we would not have agreed to that," Banda said in his local language of Chichewa.
"It would have been better for him to continue staying at the orphanage because I see no reason why my child should be given away forever when I can feed him," he said, speaking at his village of Lipunga near the Zambia border late on Saturday.
"I cannot read and write so I relied on what the (government) officials told me that the papers said Madonna would look after the child the way the orphanage planned to educate him and then he comes back to me," Banda said.
"What we agreed with Madonna was that she looks after my child until he finishes school, becomes independent and comes back home to us," Banda said.
This is one hot mess. While Madonna has received the brunt of criticism regarding this fiasco, it sounds as if the government of Malawi has some major explaining to do. The seemed to have been catering to a celebrity, and have been using the whole incident as a promotional vehicle for their country. Shame, shame, shame.
Father says had no idea Madonna adopting son [Reuters]
Written by Lauren Burch
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