Oops, I goofed, says Joyce Banda’s aide who attacked Madonna

Tusekele Mwanyongo wrote in an email to a friend that he had been “reprimanded” by Joyce Banda for the statement, which branded the American singer as “bullying” and “uncouth”.

“The president is mad with me,” he admitted in the email, seen by The Daily Telegraph.

Issued on State House-headed notepaper on Wednesday night, the statement said the pop star appeared to want “gratitude” for adopting two children from the impoverished African country.

It suggested Madonna “learn as a matter of urgency the decency of telling the truth” about her subsequent charitable endeavours there, and sarcastically claimed she wanted Mrs Banda to “roll out a red carpet and blast the 21-gun salute in her honour” because of her celebrity status.

The singer was, it read “a musician who desperately thinks she must generate recognition by bullying state officials instead of playing decent music on the stage”.

On Friday it emerged that the president, who has worked hard to woo foreign donors to Malawi after a rocky relationship under her predecessor, had not authorised the excoriating missive.

In the email, Mr Mwanyongo admitted sending it out without checking with the presidential press secretary or Mrs Banda first.

“I had thought we needed to move quickly to respond to Madonna’s outbursts,” the email read. “Her team has gone flat out to tarnish (the) image of the president. I thought I had to be vigilant and tell them off! Oops, I goofed, the President is mad with me.”

He added: “I wholeheartedly believed that it was incumbent upon me to protect the president from unfair criticism.”

The fierce statement was greeted with consternation by Madonna, who said she was “saddened” by the president’s behaviour but insisted she would not be put off from her charity work in Malawi by the “ridiculous allegations”.

Her spokesman hinted darkly of repercussions, however, saying that he had already been contacted by several foreign donors concerned by the spat.

Emily Banda, the president’s chief liaison with foreign donors and charities, said although she regretted its tone, the president would not be apologising for the statement’s sentiment.

“Madonna came to Malawi and promised a girl’s academy but two or three years later, she has not fulfilled her promises,” she said. “Then she claims to have built 10 schools when in reality they are just classrooms.

“We are disappointed by Madonna’s behaviour.”

Steve Sharra, a Malawian blogger, said many Malawians still believed the president had sanctioned the fierce statement. She is also known for her sometimes blunt delivery – and this year accepted the offer of help with her communications strategy from Tony Blair’s African Governmance Initiative.

Mr Sharra said many thought she was only distancing herself now because of the suggestion foreign aid might be compromised. Britain is Malawi’s biggest foreign donor, providing some £115 million in funding in the past year.

“Many people were flabbergasted when that statement came out and were worried that it might damage the image of the country that Joyce Banda has worked so hard to turn around,” Mr Sharra said.

Emily Banda dismissed the suggestion other foreign donors might be put off. “Malawi may be a poor country but we have our rules to follow and our integrity to protect. Provided other donors respect that, they are most welcome,” she said.

A source in the foreign aid community agreed that the Madonna row was a side issue. “There are so many bigger things to worry about it,” she said.