{"id":1628,"date":"2009-05-10T18:45:42","date_gmt":"2009-05-10T18:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.againstchildtrafficking.org\/?p=1628"},"modified":"2010-11-04T18:46:50","modified_gmt":"2010-11-04T18:46:50","slug":"madonnas-orphanage-in-cash-for-kids-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/madonnas-orphanage-in-cash-for-kids-probe\/","title":{"rendered":"MADONNA’S ORPHANAGE IN ‘CASH FOR KIDS’ PROBE"},"content":{"rendered":"
Source: www.people.co.uk<\/a>\u00a0
\n10 May 2009
\nUncle offered money for niece after web advert
\nMarc Baker
\nMadonna’s bid to adopt a baby girl from an African orphanage has been rocked by a cash-for-care scandal at the children’s home.<\/div>\n

The uncle of a two-year-old told a court in Malawi a couple who want to adopt his niece had offered him money.<\/p>\n

It was also claimed Teresa Misomali had been illegally advertised for adoption on the internet while living at the Kondanani Children’s Village.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Madonna, 50, is trying to adopt Mercy James, three, from the same orphanage. But James Kambewa – who says he is Mercy’s real dad – has vowed to fight the singer’s bid.<\/p>\n

And he is convinced Teresa’s case will help him when judges rule this week on Madonna’s plea to adopt Mercy.<\/p>\n

James, 24, said: “I’m using this as part of my battle to stop Madonna. The case of Teresa shows what may be going on at the orphanage. I am concerned.”<\/p>\n

The cash row came to light last week at Malawi’s Child Justice Court in Blantyre.<\/p>\n

Teresa’s uncle Charles Kapecha claimed a couple trying to adopt her offered him cash when he opposed their plan. And a probation officer told the court the couple had first spotted Teresa on the internet.<\/p>\n

One of the tot’s aunts also claimed she was offered a new house if she backed the adoption.<\/p>\n

The case has now been referred to Malawi’s High Court.<\/p>\n

Orphanage staff angrily deny all the money and internet claims.<\/p>\n

Boss Annie Chikhwaza said: “It’s a lie spread by a welfare officer who wanted money to finish off his home but we refused.” Despite the denial, James hopes the claims will sway judges to back him – not Madonna.<\/p>\n

The \u00a31-a-day security guard said: “She may have a lot of money and influence but she doesn’t have justice on her side.” Lawyers for Madonna say there is no evidence James is Mercy’s real father.<\/p>\n

He vanished after her birth and left her to be taken in by the orphanage when her mum died.<\/p>\n

But now he has vowed to take a DNA test to prove he’s the dad.<\/p>\n

Madonna lost her first bid to adopt Mercy when a judge ruled she did not qualify because she had not lived in Malawi for the previous 18 months.<\/p>\n

The same rule was waived last year when she adopted David Banda, three, as a brother for Lourdes, 12, and Rocco, eight.<\/p>\n

A Madonna aide declined to comment on Teresa but said she was confident of winning her appeal.<\/p>\n

marc.baker@people.co.uk<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: www.people.co.uk\u00a0 10 May 2009 Uncle offered money for niece after web advert Marc Baker Madonna’s bid to adopt a baby girl from an African orphanage has been rocked by a cash-for-care scandal at the children’s home. The uncle of a two-year-old told a court in Malawi a couple who want to adopt his niece… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1628"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1628"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1628\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1630,"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1628\/revisions\/1630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.againstchildtrafficking.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}