The Kingdom of Kubala: an African tribe's fight for ancestral land in Scotland

A former opera singer from Ghana, his Zimbabwean partner and her "handmaiden" from Texas have set up camp in Scotland, claiming the land was stolen from the Kingdom of Kubala more than 400 years ago.

The self-styled "African tribe" doesn't recognise the British legal system, which issued a warrant for their removal on Friday, but they have since moved to another area in the woodlands near Jedburgh, vowing to fight for their "stolen" land.

Ancestors robbed

According to "Sky News", the tribe is made up of leader Kofi Offeh, 36, a former opera singer from Ghana, the self-proclaimed King Atehene, his Zimbabwean wife Jean Gasho, 43, who calls herself Queen Nandi, and "handmaiden" Kaura Taylor, who calls herself Asnat.

The trio of the self-proclaimed "kingdom" have said they are reclaiming land that was stolen from their ancestors 400 years ago.

In a post on Facebook, the group said "nobody can stop Kubala", adding "The Kingdom of Kubala can never be destroyed!"

Workmen have now put up a fence around the area where the group has moved to, after their tents were allegedly set alight by locals.

The civil action was brought after the group ignored a previous eviction notice, which instructed them to leave their encampment by 5pm on September 8.

Speaking at the campsite on Friday, Offeh said: "The creator of the heavens and the Earth is the one with us.

"We are not afraid of whatever the court, the so-called court, has granted."

Asked if the group plans to move elsewhere, he said: "If the creator of the heavens and the Earth wants us to move from this land, he shall find us a place to go."

'I'm not missing'

"Times of India" reports that the "handmaiden" called Asnat, identified as Kaura Taylor from Texas, was furious over reports that she was reported missing by her family.

“To the UK authorities, obviously, I am not missing. Leave me alone. I’m an adult, not a helpless child,” Asnat said through a video message.

The group stated on Tuesday that they “don’t recognise local laws” and have faced persecution from people who don’t understand their ways, reported "SWNS".

'We are connected'

The group has since relocated near a school, where the "monarch" is often seen connecting his smartphone to a nearby co-op's Wi-Fi.

The "Daily Mail" quotes the trio as saying: "We connect to nature. We connect to the trees around us. We get grounded every morning."

They describe themselves as a lost tribe of Hebrews, asserting that their monarch is a descendant of David the Messiah, and claim their ancestors were expelled when Elizabeth I deported native Black Jacobites.

“We are the Lost Tribes of Hebrews and have returned to claim Scotland as our homeland, a land stolen by Elizabeth the first 400 years ago when she deported all black people from Scotland and England, who were not Africans but natives of the land,” Nandi said through a post on X.