PICTURED: Proof Madonna IS trying to adopt four-year-old twin sisters in Malawi as she is seen leaving court... hours after she denied it 

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This is the moment Madonna made her secret bid to adopt twin four year old girls in Malawi.

The 58-year-old singer went to extraordinary lengths to avoid being seen as she launched her adoption bid for girls called Stella and Esther.

Three bodyguards formed a human chain from a rear entrance at the High Court to her waiting four by four vehicle so that a photographer would not be able to see her.

But the 'Material Girl' star can just be seen walking out of the court and getting into the back seat of a white Kia Sportage car.

Adoption application: Madonna, circled left, leaves Lilongwe High Court in Malawi on Wednesday morning following a hearing to take custody of four year old twin sisters

Court hearing: The 58-year-old singer was seen walking from the court following a 45-minute appearance where she has applied to adopt the girls called Stella and Esther on Wednesday

It's official: Lucy Bandazi, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, told MailOnline all the necessary paperwork had been filled out and the application was being carefully considered

Family: The 12 page application to adopt the twin girls is under review at the High Court. Pictured: Madonna with David and Mercy James during a visit to Malawi in 2013

Hours after the pictures were taken the singer put out a statement denying that she was in Malawi to adopt two more children.

Meanwhile government and court officials have told MailOnline the adoption process is underway - and that the star has lodged a 12-page application to adopt the girls.

Madonna left Malawi this morning on a private jet accompanied by a five-strong entourage and will wait up to three weeks to find out if she has been successful.  

MailOnline revealed the sisters are called Stella and Esther and have been in an orphanage close to the capital Lilongwe for the past two years.

It can also be revealed that they come from the same orphanage as the singer's first Malawian child David - the Home of Hope orphanage in the provincial town of Mchinji.

Staff at the home refused to comment but a source linked to the adoption said: 'Madonna has stayed in contact with the orphanage and has taken David and Mercy back to visit. 

'The twin girls she is seeking to adopt are from the orphanage.'

Madonna is understood to have begun the legal process of adopting the twins several months ago.

The previous two adoptions from Malawi and her continued involvement with the country will count substantially in her favour, according to a legal source.

It is not thought her recent trouble with son Rocco – when he refused to fly to New York to stay with his mother – would play a part in any decision.

Rocco, 16, has since reconciled with his mother and was photographed with her on a skiing trip.

Close: Madonna, pictured with her daughter Mercy James in 2010, claimed she was visiting Malawi to check up on her charities and denied rumours she was there to adopt more children

Visit: Madonna is said to have block booked the exclusive Kumbali Country Lodge just outside Lilongwe before appearing before Judge Fiona Mwale at the High Court. Pictured: Mercy James and David in Malawi in July last year

Lucy Bandazi, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, told MailOnline all the paperwork for an adoption has been submitted and the application was being carefully considered.

'Madonna has lodged an application with the High Court to adopt two girls. They are aged four years old,' she said.

'All the necessary paperwork is before the High Court and they will make the ultimate decision if the adoption can go ahead.'

Hours after being spotted at the court, Madonna released a statement through US magazine People, denying that she is trying to adopt the children.

'The rumours of an adoption process are untrue,' she said.

'I am in Malawi to check on the children's hospital in Blantyre and my other work with Raising Malawi and then heading home.'

But sources told MailOnline Madonna had applied to adopt the two girls from an orphanage where they were left two years ago.

Madonna's application to take home the two girls is currently undergoing a vetting procedure that looks at all aspects of her life.

Ms Bandazi said process would be followed as usual, regardless of the fame of the singer. 

A court spokesman said any decision for the adoption to proceed is likely to take three weeks. She is unlikely to be leaving Malawi with the children at the weekend, they added.

Court visit: The singer was pictured leaving the court on Wednesday with her security team. She was reportedly accompanied at the court by two children. It is unclear whether they are the two girls she is hoping to adopt or her two adopted children David and Mercy James

Legal process: Madonna could wait up to three weeks before finding out if she has been successful in her adoption. Pictured clockwise from top left: Madonna's children Mercy James, Rocco, David and Lourdes

Four to six: The adopted her first child from Malawi, a boy called David (above middle) in 2008 and a daughter Mercy (second left) a year later. They joined her son Rocco (left) and Lourdes (right) on a skiing holiday with the singer at new year

Mlenga Mvula said: 'We have the file, we have everything, we have all the documentation, and the matter will be determined by the judge soon.' 

Mr Mvula said the adoption request was made through Madonna's lawyer, Titus Mvala. 

Madonna had hoped to keep her visit to the High Court secret.

But a local reporter spotted her arriving and waited at a rear entrance usually reserved for judges for the singer to leave.

Her white four by four reversed close to the door and three bodyguards stood at the entrance.

As Madonna left the bodyguards formed a human chain hoping their sizeable frames would stop the singer from being seen.

Madonna was accompanied by two children, but it is not clear if they were her adopted children from Malawi, David and Mercy, or the two girls she was hoping to make part of her family. 

While in Lilongwe Madonna and her entourage stayed at the luxury Kumbali Lodge close to the Presidential Palace on the outskirts of the capital.

The singer booked all 16 rooms at the lodge to prevent anyone from getting interfering with her three-day visit.

Each of the en-suite rooms cost $270 a night with Madonna’s stay totalling more than $15,000.

Her entourage included three burly bodyguards who had formed a human chain outside the high court to stop her from being photographed.

It is not thought her adopted children, David and Mercy, were with on the short visit.

Staff at the lodge said they were not allowed to talk about the visit by Madonna but confirmed the singer had left on Friday morning.

One member of staff said:” Yes, she has left but we are under instructions not to talk about her visit.

“The lodge is not open as we have the day to clear up and prepare it for other guest after she has left.”

MailOnline has contacted the singer's spokeswoman for comment.