Attempts to dislodge a self-styled group claiming African heritage from privately-owned land have begun in the Scottish Borders.
Law enforcement and legal representatives have turned up at the camp where three members of the self-proclaimed Kingdom of Kubala have been residing in woodland near Jedburgh for multiple weeks.
They asserted they were taking back land that was seized from their predecessors 400 years ago – but the regional authority said they were breaking the law.
The removal notice was granted by a local sheriff last week after the group defied a prior instruction to leave their site.
The "tribe" has a expanding online presence, with over 100,000 followers on TikTok and Facebook, and has received international media attention.
From Ghana one individual, 36, and another person, 42, who is a native of Zimbabwe, first arrived in the Jedburgh area in the recent months.
Referring to themselves as a monarchic title and Queen Nandi, they established a base on a slope above the town in the Borders region.
They were accompanied by follower another member, from Texas, who refers to herself as Asnat.
The group claimed hereditary claims to land and declared that the self-declared realm had been born.
The regional council first displaced the individuals from the elevated location above Jedburgh in July.
But instead of leave the area, they moved about a mile further out of town to a wooded area next to an industrial estate.
The individual has noted before that he was "not afraid" of the warrant for their clearance.
The legal proprietors, the landowners, sought approval to the courts for the tribe to be removed.
However, the council said they had failed to comply with an instruction to leave the land by 5 PM on Monday.
A local councillor said last week that the group were disregarding the law by occupying someone else's land.
He said the holder had been left with "no option" but to seek an directive from the court.
The deputy leader said it was disappointing – but not surprising – that the group had defied the ultimatum to leave the site.
They have rejected every opportunity to engage with us," he said.
Support can be offered, but we will not allow and let them ignore the law."
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