American pop diva Madonna arrived in Malawi on Sunday amid controversy over her bid to adopt a second Malawian child, a girl called Mercy James, officials said.
"She disembarked from the cargo area and jumped into her convoy," an airport official at Kamuzu international airport, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the capital Lilongwe, said.
Madonna, 50, will reportedly be travelling with her first adopted child, David Banda, a year after finalizing the adoption process that started in 2006 and sparked controversy that she used her fame to fast-track the process and skirt Malawian law banning non-residents from adopting children. Critics say the latest adoption would also violate Malawi's laws.
The Material Girl told the Malawi daily Nation earlier this month that she would only go through with the adoption if she had the "support of the Malawian people and government."
The four-year-old would be a sister for Madonna's three children including three-year-old David, adopted by the pop idol and her then-husband Guy Ritchie from the same orphanage as Mercy, nine-year-old Rocco and 12-year-old Lourdes whose father is Carlos Leon.
Her name is Mercy James from Mchinji Home of Hope orphanage. She has no father and mother—they both died
"Her name is Mercy James from Mchinji Home of Hope orphanage. She has no father and mother—they both died. We finished the assessment yesterday (Thursday) in readiness for the courts next week," a spokesman for the Ministry of Gender and Child Development told Reuters.
Court clerks confirmed Madonna or her associates were expected to appear in court on Monday for the adoption proceedings.
Controversy
The adoptions have sparked opposition from some charities including U.K.-based Save the Children, which this weekend urged the singer to reconsider the latest adoption saying children are be better off staying in her own community and that international adoption should only be considered as a last resort.
"Should it be the case that the child really has no immediate family or extended family who can look after her or him, then the thing to do is support the community to support the local agencies and charities who can look after the child," said charity spokesman Dominic Nutt.
Madonna's spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg said the recently divorced star would not respond to Save the Children.
Madonna has used her fame to raise awareness about poverty, AIDS and other problems facing Malawi, helping to run the non-profit Raising Malawi and making a documentary "I Am Because We Are."
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