Apr 03, 2009 – Blantyre, Malawi – A Malawian court has ruled that US pop star Madonna has failed in her bid to adopt a second child from the country. ‘I must decline to grant the application for the adoption of the infant,’ judge Esmie Chondo said. The application has been rejected over residency rules. Madonna was not in court to hear the ruling over Chifundo James, three. Her lawyer said she would lodge an appeal. The child’s family, who are among the poorest of the poor in the tiny African country, said they had been given no clear idea of what the future would hold for Mercy, whose mother died aged 18, five days after giving birth to her and whose father cannot be traced. PICTURED: Baby Mercy in 2007. (Credit Image: © Peter Jegwa/White Hot Pix/ZUMA Press)
