Eviction begins of self-styled 'African tribe' from Scottish Borders woodland

Officials began removing a self-styled "African tribe" from privately owned woodland near Jedburgh on Tuesday after a sheriff issued a court order for their eviction.

Five council officials and four police officers entered the makeshift encampment while the three members of the group were asleep, shouting was heard as the occupiers were roused, and by the time officers left about 90 minutes later tents had been dismantled and possessions packed. The trio remained near the site but had moved a few metres from their original camp.

The occupants identify themselves as the Kingdom of Kubala and include 36-year-old Ghanaian Kofi Offeh and 42-year-old Jean Gasho, originally from Zimbabwe, who have styled themselves King Atehehe and Queen Nandi. They were joined at the site by Kaura Taylor, from Texas, who calls herself Asnat and describes her role as a "handmaiden." The group has said they were reclaiming land they allege was taken from their ancestors about 400 years ago.

The trio first arrived in the Jedburgh area in the spring and set up a camp on a hillside above the town. Scottish Borders Council initially removed them from that site in July, but they then relocated about a mile out of town into woodland adjacent to an industrial estate and remained on privately owned land.

Landowners David and Mary Palmer successfully applied to the courts for an eviction order, which Sheriff Peter Paterson issued last week after the group failed to comply with an earlier instruction to leave. Scottish Borders Council said the occupants did not meet a deadline to vacate the land by 17:00 on Monday.

Scott Hamilton, deputy leader of the council and a Jedburgh councillor, said the group were breaking the law by taking up residence on someone else's land and that the landowner had been left with "no option" but to seek a sheriff's order. "They have rebuffed every opportunity to engage with us," he said. "We can help them, but we won't sit back and let them break the law."

Officers remained on site for around an hour and a half on Tuesday. Local reporting said the group would not directly comment to BBC Scotland about the eviction action. Mr Offeh has previously said he was "not afraid" of the warrant for their removal.

The Kingdom of Kubala has cultivated a significant online presence, drawing international attention and more than 100,000 followers across platforms including TikTok and Facebook. The group's public profile and claims of ancestral rights have been part of media coverage that followed their arrival in the Scottish Borders.

Under Scottish civil law, landowners may seek court orders to remove unauthorised occupiers from private property; local authorities can also offer assistance or support services to people living in encampments, but told reporters they had been unable to engage constructively with the group. At the time officials left the woodland on Tuesday, the landowners' court order had been enforced and the camp cleared of its main structures, while the three occupants remained in the vicinity.