In the forests of southern Scotland, what began as a fantastical tale unfolded into a bizarre real-life saga. For months, 36-year-old Kofi Opaha, a former opera singer from Ghana, and his wife, 43-year-old Jean Gasho from Zimbabwe, proclaimed themselves the founders of a mystical kingdom.
Opaha declared himself “King Atehene,” the Messiah of Israel, and a descendant of King David, while Gasho, a mother of seven, stood at his side as “Queen Nandi.”
Together, they announced the birth of the “Kingdom of Kubala,” which they described as a lost tribe of Black Jews returning to their ancestral homeland. Their chosen homeland, they insisted, was not Jerusalem but the forests near Jedburgh, on the Scottish-English border.
The couple shared their vision through videos online. In one clip, Gasho waves a peacock feather over her husband and proclaims: “Long live the King of the North, long live the Messiah!” In another, their American companion Cora Taylor, who refers to herself as “Asenath,” presents the self-styled king with an offering: a bottle of Irn-Bru, Scotland’s iconic orange soda, and a packet of cookies.
Taylor had been reported missing in Texas, but she dismissed the claims, declaring on social media: “I am not missing. I’m an adult and I’m free. Leave me alone.”
The couple’s mythology went further. They claimed to be descendants of “Yakobo,” the biblical Jacob, who, they argued, was Black. According to their telling, Queen Elizabeth I had expelled the “Black Scots,” Jacob’s descendants, about 400 years ago. “The true Jerusalem is in Scotland,” they proclaimed. “The old world is collapsing, the Second Exodus has begun, and only those who live off-grid, on Sukkot, will be saved.”
In practice, the “Kingdom of Kubala” amounted to a cluster of tents pitched in a woodland clearing. There, the couple performed baptisms in streams and rituals they described as “tree-connection ceremonies.” “We live simple lives, aspiring to return to innocence,” Opaha explained.
But the story carried a darker side. The pair had faced charges of child abuse in England, though the case was later dropped. They claimed it had been a conspiracy “not to overshadow King Charles’s coronation in 2023.” They also alleged that their first encampment had been torched by “unknown attackers.”
The end of the 'kingdom'
Last week, the kingdom came to an abrupt end. Officials from the Scottish Borders Council, supported by Scotland's police, issued an eviction order, removed the three residents, and cleared the site. “An eviction order was issued and the site was cleared,” the council confirmed, adding that housing and support services had been offered.
Still, on social media, “King Atehene” and “Queen Nandi” remain undeterred. They insist their reign continues, and that “the true Jerusalem” lies not in the Middle East, but hidden among the forests of Scotland.