A self-proclaimed tribe who have set up camp in a Scottish forest say they have been attacked by locals throwing rocks and shouting abuse.
The so-called Kubala Kingdom established itself earlier this year in woodland near Jedburgh, about 41 miles south of Edinburgh, saying they were reclaiming land supposedly taken from their ancestors in the Highlands 400 years ago.
Jean Gasho, 43, who styles herself as Queen Nandi, posted footage online this week showing members of the public confronting her group.
She alleged that bricks were thrown, children hurled rocks, and adults shouted abuse and insults. One man in the videos is heard saying, “This is a… cult and I will always stick to that.”
The skirmishes have prompted a local official to call for calm despite saying that the claims of the tribe are “ludicrous”.
Ms Gasho, who is Zimbabwean, lives at the camp with her Ghanaian husband, Kofi Offeh, 36, a former opera singer who calls himself King Atehene, and their handmaiden, Kaura Taylor, an American who insists she joined voluntarily despite being reported missing by her family.
The group has puzzled locals for months. Last month, they were forced to relocate after being evicted from land owned by the Scottish Borders Council (SBC).
On Tuesday, Ms Gasho shared a further video, this time showing a woman entering the camp and attempting to tear down tents.
Ms Gasho said bystanders had phoned police as they watched the tribe being verbally attacked and harassed on TikTok Live. A separate video posted online showed police officers arriving at the camp and asking the group if they had been hurt or had property damaged.
Scott Hamilton, SBC member for Jedburgh, said the situation had become unacceptable. “Footage was shared with me throughout the course of [yesterday], which showed an unholy, inappropriate situation: where violence was threatened, where accusations were made and where tensions were on the rise. That will achieve nothing,” he said.
“This group will leave Jedburgh… by lawful means – but they are the only means that this will take place, not with mob mentality or threats or violence.”
He added: “Yes, the group may upset us with some of their ludicrous accusations of heritage and history – but we must rise above it.”
Ms Gasho said such hostility was nothing new for the Kubala. “This is not something new to Kubala – we have experienced it before,” she said. “In Jedburgh, it is just beginning. It is always traumatic to experience something like that, but we have faith in something that is bigger than the physical. We know that we do not have the help of the system – they will not rush to protect us, so we always remain steadfast in our God.”
The Kubala Kingdom’s leaders claim to be descendants of the “Lost Tribes of Hebrews,” asserting that black Jacobites once ruled Scotland and that Jerusalem was in fact located there. They describe themselves as the only true heirs to the land. There is no evidence to support these claims.
