Agency Backs Angelina and Brad’s Ethiopian Adoption

When Angelina and Brad adopted Zahara in July 2005 it was “legal and irrevocable”, according to Wide Horizons for Children, the agency that processed and conducted the adoption.

Relatives of two-year-old Zahara, including a woman who says she is her birth mother, want the child returned to Ethiopia, according to reports out of the US. Jolie adopted Zahara in July, 2005.

According to the Daily Mail, the head of Wide Horizons for Children, Tsegaye states that the grandmother of Zahara had died (and brought three witnesses to court to verify this) and the father was unknown.

Now, a woman is claiming to be Zahara’s birth-mother and wants her to return to “where she is from”. Mentewab Dait Lebiso claims Zahara was conceived when she was raped when a stranger broke into her home. She then ran away because she thought the baby would die from starvation. Her mother then signed the baby over for adoption.

Her mother now claims they were misled over the adoption, as they claim they were told they would be able to maintain contact with her.

On the other side, the BBC reports that Ms Dawit never disputed the adoption.