Madonna in court to win baby Mercy

Madonna will have to wait until Friday to hear if she can adopt a second Malawian orphan after her case was adjourned, it has emerged.

Earlier, dressed in a black skirt, black high heels and holding her hat, the superstar entered the court house in Lilongwe through a back door.

She was flanked by a security guard as she walked the short distance to the building.

She was making her case to adopt four-year-old girl Mercy and take her to a new life in New York.

Her arrival came after the 50-year-old filed adoption papers last week before arriving in Africa over the weekend.

After the appearance she was driven away at high speed in her Range Rover-style vehicle which has blacked out windows.

The one adoption case on the court docket lists only the child's name - Chifundo James. But officials said a decision would not be made until Friday.

Her attempts at a second adoption have met with opposition.

Charity Save the Children urged her to think twice about the girl, whose father is thought to be alive, though other relatives were said to be behind the plan.

'International adoption can actually exacerbate the problem,' said charity spokesman Dominic Nutt.

The very existence of orphanages encourages poor parents to abandon children in the hope that they will have a better life.'

Madonna already has an adopted son, three-year-old David Banda, who she took home from the impoverished African country in 2006.

At the time, claims emerged her and then-husband Guy Ritchie's used their status to fast-track their application.

But her quest to find a sister for David initially drew anger from Mercy's family.

'It is stealing. I won't let her go,' the child's 61-year-old grandmother, Lucy Chekechiwa, told a newspaper.

But Madonna and Mercy's uncle are expected to sign the adoption papers today.

Austin Msowoya from Malawi's Law Commission played down worries.

He said the best interests of the child had to be taken into account – whether they were 'getting an education' with Madonna or staying in an orphanage.

'When you look at these two options, perhaps it becomes best to allow the adoption if the parents and the guardians consent to it,' he added.

Madonna has ties with Malawi, one of the world's poorest nations, setting up Raising Malawi to try to publicise the plight of its orphans.

She has brought daughter Lourdes, 12, on this trip.

Via metro.co.uk