A judge in Malawi has adjourned a hearing into an application by child rights groups trying to block the adoption of a Malawian boy by pop star Madonna until next month.
Yohane Banda, father of one-year-old David, who was flown to London earlier this month to join the singer, went to the court in central Lillongwe, saying his presence was a symbolic protest against the legal moves to halt the adoption.
"The hearing has been adjourned . . . for the judge to hear other parties involved," Madonna's Malawian lawyer said after he and counsel for the rights groups met high court judge Andrew Nyirenda in his chambers.
The case will be heard on November 13th.
The coalition of rights groups says the government broke its own laws, which forbid adoption of any Malawian child by a non-resident by granting Madonna interim adoption rights.
Controversy over Madonna's adoption plan has raged since the singer spent more than a week in Malawi earlier this month on what her publicists said was a humanitarian mission to help hundreds of thousands of Malawian orphans.
