Madonna with her adopted Malawian child, Mercy James.
Blantyre - A Malawi court on Wednesday allowed eight former employees of a charity founded by the singer Madonna to sue on charges of unfair dismissal.
The singer says her Raising Malawi group, which is meant to focus on education in the poor southern African nation, fired the workers due to real economic constraints.
But the chairperson of the Industrial Relations Court, Jack Nriva, dismissed her lawyers' claims that there was no legal grounds for the suit.
Madonna, who adopted two children from the country after her first visit in 2006, has seen her charity hit snags, with charges of misappropriation of funds and an open investigation by authorities into how land for Raising Malawi was acquired.
Her pledge to build a $15-million girls' academy has so far been unfulfilled, with the singer saying earlier this year she would instead invest in education support programmes. - Sapa-dpa
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