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Father wants Madonna to keep his ray of light

The father of the Malawian boy Madonna wants to adopt yesterday appealed to the local right groups to stop the legal challenge to the adoption.

The father of the Malawian boy Madonna wants to adopt yesterday appealed to the local right groups to stop the legal challenge to the adoption.

Yohane Banda said he wanted the action to be stopped because he feared the singer could react by sending the boy back to his impoverished homeland.

Speaking on the eve of a hearing in Malawi's administrative capital, Lilongwe, Banda said the case should be dropped "for the sake of my child's future and health".

"I appeal to the rights group to stop it because I don't want Madonna to get annoyed to the point of wanting to send back my David," said the 32-year-old.

He said local rights groups were "on my neck every day to support the court action . I am afraid if this is successful Madonna might send David back and I will have nowhere to go to fend for him."

The high court in Lilongwe will begin hearing the case, brought by a coalition of 67 rights groups, today.

The groups said the government fast-tracked the process, and broke its own laws by allowing 13-month-old David to be flown to the singer's London home before the adoption was finalised.

In terms of the country's adoption laws, adoption takes 18 months before it is finalised.

But Banda said that the court case was unhelpful.

"I am confused as to whose interests these human rights organisations are serving," he said. - Sapa-AFP

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