Actions to evict a self-described group claiming African heritage from private land have commenced in the Borders region.
Police and sheriff officers have turned up at the encampment where three members of the self-titled Kingdom of Kubala have been residing in woodland near Jedburgh for several weeks.
They asserted they were retaking land that was seized from their ancestors centuries ago – but the local council said they were breaking the law.
The clearance directive was granted by the presiding sheriff last week after the group defied a previous instruction to leave their site.
The "tribe" has a growing online presence, with in excess of 100,000 followers on TikTok and Facebook, and has received global media attention.
Ghanaian one individual, 36, and Jean Gasho, 42, who is originally from Zimbabwe, first appeared in the Jedburgh area in the recent months.
Calling themselves as a monarchic title and Queen Nandi, they set up camp on a slope above the town in the southern Scotland.
They were met by "handmaiden" another member, from Texas, who calls herself Asnat.
The group stated lineage-based privileges to land and declared that the Kingdom of Kubala had been created.
Scottish Borders Council originally evicted the individuals from the elevated location above Jedburgh in July.
But rather than leave the area, they moved about a mile outside of town to a woodland area next to an business park.
One member has noted before that he was unconcerned of the notice for their eviction.
The property holders, the proprietors, successfully applied to the courts for the occupiers to be cleared.
However, the council said they had failed to comply with an order to leave the land by 17:00 on Monday.
A elected representative said last week that the group were violating the law by occupying someone else's land.
He said the landowner had been left with no alternative but to seek an ruling from the court.
The deputy leader said it was regrettable – but not surprising – that the group had defied the deadline to leave the site.
They have refused every opportunity to engage with us," he said.
"We can help them, but we cannot permit and let them break the law."
