Madonna's adoption bid backed by Banda father

Madonna has received backing from the father of the Malawian tot she plans to adopt.

Yohane Banda says he fully supports the pop superstar's plans to adopt his son David Banda, but wanted her to bring the tot home for visits.

Following the Malawian government's recommendation that its High Court approve Madonna's adoption of the child, Yohane told news agency Reuters: "I have no problem with the government's recommendation to allow Madonna to get the child.

"This is what I wanted, that Madonna should keep the child.

"If she comes with the child ... we expect to be told that the child is here and we are allowed to see him," he said in Lipunga, 160 km (100 miles) from Malawi's capital.

He continued, "We had agreed initially that when the child is taken, she should bring him at least once in every three to four years so that we should see how he is developing," he said.

One of Malawi's fiercest critics of Madonna's adoption bid, the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC), said on Monday it was no longer interested in pursuing the case, removing another obstacle.

"It will be as a waste of time and resources to continue pursuing the case. Malawi has more pressing issues than Madonna," HRCC chairman Udule Mwakasungura said.

Madonna -- who's married to film director Guy Ritchie -- began the adoption process in 2006; and David, 2, has been living with the couple in their London home since then.

The adoption hasn't been without its fair share of controversy; critics have accused the Malawian government of skirting laws that ban non-residents from adopting children in the country, which has been ravaged by an AIDS epidemic leaving more than one million orphans.