Madonna's baby may be sent back to Malawi

Madonna's baby boy David Banda could be sent back to Malawi - just as the singer reaches the final hurdle in the adoption process.

The Queen of Pop will soon be visited to be given a grilling from a Malawian adoption official, who will assess the parenting skills of the singer and her husband Guy Ritchie.

However, according to a newspaper report in Malawi, Penstone Kilembe, the child welfare expert who has been overseeing the case, has now been banned from making the final investigation.

Malawi's Minister of Women and Child Development, Kate Kainja, stepped in after she discovered that Kilembe had obtained an air ticket to London and money from Madonna, without approval from the government. He has been accused of "personalising" the matter and risking his neutrality.

"We have already contacted Madonna that someone else and not Kilembe will come to assess her, because we feel Mr Kilembe personalised the whole issue when other people can go," Kainja told the Malawi News.

Kilembe warned: "What this means is that the whole adoption process may crumble and David is sent back to his village."