Angelina Jolie to Face Baby Zahara's Mother in Court?  9/22/05

ANGELINA JOLIE has been inadvertently placed at the centre of an adoption scandal in Ethiopia after a teenager claiming to be the mother of the actress' baby Zahara has been found alive and well.

Adoption papers stated little Zahara's mother was dead but now British newspaper The Sun has tracked down 18-year-old Mentaweb Dawit, who claims she's the little girl's mum.

Dawit has no plans to challenge Oscar-winner Jolie over the adoption; instead she praises the actress for giving her daughter the chance for a good life, stating: "I want to say thank you to Angelina for giving my baby this wonderful, loving family."

But, under Ethiopian law, Jolie must reapply for her adoptive rights because the initial paperwork was incorrect.

Ethiopian adoption law expert Belay Ketema tells US tabloid the National Enquirer, "The adoption could be illegal because the law in Ethiopia says that if the mother is still alive she must give her consent and in this case that may not have happened.

"The adoptive mother must appear in court to nullify the old papers and re-apply for adoption. The baby's mother must also appear to give her consent."

Dawit, a seamstress, claims she fell pregnant after she was raped and always planned to give up the baby for adoption.

Sources allege Dawit's mother Almaz Blfnhe told adoption authorities that her daughter had died in childbirth.