Madonna's adopted son David was reunited with his biological father yesterday for the first time since the toddler left Malawi with the singer in 2006.

Yohane Banda met his child at 7am at the Kumbali Lodge where Madonna and her family are staying. But the peasant farmer, who gave David up for adoption when his wife died weeks after childbirth, revealed his son did not recognise him.

'He asked me who I was,' Yohane said after the scheduled meeting, which lasted two-and-a-half hours.
'When I told him "I am your daddy" he looked surprised.'

Mrs Wilo, an official from Madonna's Raising Malawi charity, acted as a translator between David and Yohane, who does not speak English.

Yohane continued: 'It's amazing how David has grown; I can't believe he is the same small and sickly baby we left at Home of Hope. 'He seems to be a polite boy for he asked if he could sit on my lap. Then he started playing with my nose; I don't know why.

'He is quite chatty and intelligent. He asked me lots of questions about lots of things. He asked me whether I ride horses. ‘I told him horses are for the rich and he asked me why I am poor. 
'He told me his mum likes riding horses and that he too rides horses.

'The he told me a story when one day he and his brother, Rocco, rode horses and fell. He told me his mum spanked him because they are not supposed to ride horses on their own.'  Yohane revealed how David spoke warmly of his adoptive parents.

'He told me his mum plays music and asked me what I do for life,' he said.

'I told him I was a farmer. He asked what a farmer does and I explained to him that we use hoes to till the land. 'He told me his daddy, Mr Ritchie, took him to a farm but it had a tractor. I told him in Africa we use hoes.'

Yohane, who has since married a new wife, Flor, and now has a young son, Dingiswayo, said he was disappointed to learn of Madonna's divorce from Guy Ritchie. 'He seems to like his daddy, Mr Ritchie, so much that I was a little sad Madonna broke up with him. 'I would have loved it if they sorted out whatever problems they had instead of divorcing because divorce is bad for kids.'

Yohane lost two sons prior to David's birth and says he is relieved Madonna is taking care of the toddler. 'I was very happy to meet David again. He reminds me of the two sons I lost in infancy.

'I sometimes shudder to think that David could also have met the same fate had Madonna not adopted him. I am really grateful to her for saving David from possible early death.'

Madonna and her two other children Rocco, 8, and Lourdes, 12, also met briefly with Yohane. 'She just greeted me and told me about David's school. She is a sweet lady,' he said. 'She told me David was clever at school. She then told me the children needed to take a bath because they were preparing to go out.'

Later that day, Madonna took her children for a tour of the Mphandula child care centre built by Raising Malawi about 30 miles from the capital of Lilongwe. The singer and her family arrived in the impoverished African country on Sunday and she is  hoping to leave with a new addition to her brood - four-year-old Mercy James. A judge will rule on Friday whether the 50-year-old should be allowed to adopt a second child from the country.

Mercy was placed in an orphanage after her 18-year-old mother died five days after her birth. It was reported that her father was a schoolboy and it is not clear whether he is alive. Madonna's determination to adopt Mercy was said to be a major cause of conflict between her and Guy, who was opposed to the idea.

Last year, he was said to have relented but soon afterwards the couple separated.

Source: Daily Mail