Malawian gov’t says no more Madonna-paid trips to London for social worker. But court is on his side. 

LONDON (Hollywood Today/AFP) 8/5/07 — Madonna’s plans to adopt Malawian David Banda, who has been her son for 18 months, have hit a snag. Malawian authorities have been preventing a social worker from visiting the pop star’s London home for an assessment, a British weekly said.

Malawi’s Minister of Women and Child Development Kate Kainja has stopped social worker Penston Kilembe from travelling to London twice in 18 months to monitor David Banda’s progress under her care, the Sunday Times reported. Banda has been living with Madonna and her British filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie since a Malawian court granted them 18 months’ interim custody last year, yet may need the inspection signed off in order to keep the child.

At issue is whether a specific social worker has to be repeatedly flown in to London from Africa, or a Malawian official already based in London can perform the inspection. That social worker claims he should keep getting the all-expense paid trips from Madonna, and he may have the court on his side.

During the 18-month period Madonna and Ritchie have called David their son, the court ordered Kilembe to oversee the child’s welfare and report to the court and the ministry at least twice. The court also ruled that Madonna should cover all the costs.

Kilembe has insisted that he alone was able to make the assessment visits, saying: “This role is not interchangeable … this means no one can monitor David expect me.”

Kilembe said stopping him was “very dangerous for the child because he may eventually be withdrawn,” from Madonna’s care.

Kilembe was due to have visited David from July 8 to 12. But Malawi’s Minister of Women and Child Development Kate Kainja reportedly stopped him twice, the Sunday Times said.

The inspection is the last legal hurdle in adopting the toddler.

The minister argued the money for the trip should not be spent on government officials.

“Let Madonna use that money on David … she has already spent a lot of money of David and she should not spend more money on us,” Kainja was quoted as saying.

Indeed, Madonna has already spent over $12,000 on toys alone, including a miniature BMW electric car. So it is unlikely that the child lacks for milk or medicine.

The monitoring would still be done, she said, but preferably by another Malawian official already in London.

“As a Christian, I cannot allow that she spends money on government officials because she has already helped us a lot by adopting David,” the minister said.

Madonna has denied using her vast wealth to fast-track the adoption process while David’s biological father Yohane Banda has said he gave his child up for adoption to escape a life of poverty. The child’s mother died shortly after giving birth in September 2005.

The custody order which enabled Madonna to take David out of Malawi last October, sparked heated debate about adoption laws in the southeastern African nation where the number of orphans is is surging as a result of AIDS

The adoption of children by Madonna and celeb couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie has helped shine a light on the orphan crisis is Africa and other locales.