Tuesday May 5, 2009

Madonna’s lawyer yesterday launched a scathing attack on the man claiming to be the father of the girl the singer wants to adopt — branding him a chancer.

James Kambewa — who has never met his daughter and has only seen her picture in newspapers and on television — says he wants to bring up Mercy James, 4, by himself.

“I want Mercy back. I am the biological father of Mercy,” he said.

Kambewa later claimed in a US TV interview that until recently he thought his daughter was dead.

But Madonna’s spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg has hit back, saying, “There is no evidence that this man is the father of Mercy.

“Her mother died while giving birth to her, no family member has ever come forward to claim this child and now some man appears claiming to be the father.”

Madonna’s lawyer Alan Chinula added: “He is just an opportunist.

“Who is he to claim paternity rights now, three years later? He didn’t even know he had a daughter, if indeed Mercy is his daughter, until now.”

Meanwhile, the 50-year-old Holiday singer faces an agonizing wait over her appeal after judges at the Supreme Court of Appeal decided yesterday to take time out to deliberate.

They said they would call another hearing to announce their decision.

Tags: madonna