During the 90-minute court session, he said Madonna was financially stable and could care for three-year-old Chifundo James, whose name translates as “Mercy”.
“We therefore grant adoption,” he added. According to the judge, the court had taken the child’s best interest as paramount consideration when granting the adoption. The application had been met by fierce criticism by child welfare groups and rights activists who were opposed to the singer’s efforts to take another child away from the country.
Madonna has set up a charity, Raising Malawi, which provides support for orphans and vulnerable children. She has already built a multi-purpose community centre at Mphandula village, 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Lilongwe, which looks after more than 8,000 orphans from scores of villages in the area.
In April, the recently-divorced singer and actress jetted into the country to file for the adoption of James who was placed at an orphanage following the death of her mother. A 24-year-old man believed to be Chifundo’s father, James Kambewa has opposed the adoption, saying he was capable of looking after the child.