NEW YORK: The father of an African girl Madonna hopes to adopt says he wants to take care of his daughter himself — even though he’s never met her.

James Kambewa, believed to be the biological father of Chifundo ‘Mercy’ James, said he doesn’t want the pop star to adopt the four-year-old.

“I want to take care of her, and I’m capable to take care of my baby,” he told CBS’ The Early Show. “Mercy is a Malawian — so (I) need her to grow as a Malawian as well with our culture.” Kambewa wears a necklace bearing his daughter’s name but has never met her and says he has only seen her “in newspapers and TV — not face to face.”

Madonna’s spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg said in an e-mail message she doesn’t know if Kambewa is the father of the girl, who lives in an orphanage. Madonna’s appeal of a court ruling denying her request to adopt the girl is to be heard on May 4. — AP