London, Apr 4 : Madonna screamed in disbelief and held her head in her hands yesterday after a judge denied her bid to adopt four-year-old Malawian orphan Chifundo "Mercy" James.

As her lawyer broke the news, the shocked singer yelled: "Whaaat?"

The 50-year-old singer had been told by government officials that Mercy James was "definitely hers", reports The Sun.

Following the decision, Madonna, who had spent nearly two years preparing to adopt the tot as a sister to Malawian son David Banda, sat motionless before "furiously storming off" to her room at the luxury lodge where she had been staying in the African country.

A worker there said: "She was unrecognisably angry - she seemed in emotional agony. We couldn't tell if she was crying, but her daughter Lourdes ran and put her arms round her. Madonna said to her lawyer, `This is the worst day of my life'.

"She yelled at him, `What went wrong? How could this happen'? He was staring at the ground."

The American star was so confident Mercy would be her daughter she had already held celebratory parties and refurbished her home to accommodate the tot.

Malawian Judge Esme Chombo had rejected Madonna's adoption bid on the grounds she is not resident there. (ANI)