The boy, David Banda, was whisked through London's Heathrow
Airport by Madonna's aides after he flew from Malawi to South Africa in a private jet, then first-class to London.
In a whir of activity, he was then apparently taken to Madonna's three-storey home in central London on a tree-lined street of stately Victorian terrace houses, which was staked out by the world's media.
Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie have insisted that they began the adoption process several months ago and acted "according to the law like anyone else who adopts a child", after local rights groups in Malawi alleged that she was breaking the country's laws.
The 48-year-old was granted an interim order to adopt the poor farmer's son by a high court in Malawi last Thursday after spending a week in the poverty-stricken country to assess AIDS projects she had funded.
Local opposition
But the Human Rights Consultative Committee -- an umbrella grouping of 67 local rights groups in Malawi – have been to court to challenge the interim order.
Under Malawian law, expatriates adopting a child usually have to live in the country for 18 months and are monitored by social workers before they get full adoption rights.
If the judge grants permission for a full hearing, their lawyers will get the chance to argue in court the authorities had breached their own regulations by allowing David to join Madonna abroad.
The singer has also faced opposition from charities which say she could use her wealth more effectively, such as helping African parents fight AIDS and keeping orphaned children, including the baby she is attempting to adopt, in their home communities.
In the letter released by Britain's Press Association, Madonna said she wanted "to open up our home and help one child escape an extreme life of hardship, poverty and in many cases death".
"This was not a decision or commitment that my family or I take
lightly."
Madonna said she had decided to adopt a Malawian child after learning that the country, one of the poorest in the world, was home to more than one million orphans.
The singer has financed the construction of an orphanage and other projects worth about $US5 million ($A6.6 million) in Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries.