The family of Kaura Taylor, a 21-year-old Texas woman who was reported missing earlier this year, says they are alarmed after learning she has been living with a self-styled “African tribe” in the Scottish Highlands.
Taylor, who now goes by “Asnat, Lady Safi, of Atehene,” is residing in the so-called Kingdom of Kubala — a patch of woodland near Jedburgh — where she serves as a handmaiden to the group’s leader, Queen Nandi.
The community is led by Ghanaian opera singer Kofi Offeh, who calls himself King Atehene, and his wife Jean Gasho, known as Queen Nandi. The pair claim their followers are descendants of a lost Hebrew tribe reclaiming ancestral lands.
Taylor, a single mother to a one-year-old, left Texas for the UK on May 25 using a six-month tourist visa. Relatives said they only discovered her whereabouts after her disappearance, when she left behind a cryptic message about needing to “get out and explore.”
“It is heartbreaking. We are very concerned for Kaura, but she doesn’t believe anyone cares about her,” her aunt Teri Allen told The Independent. Another aunt described the situation as “very stressful and difficult.”
Taylor, however, has defended her decision, accusing her family of past abuse. In an August 20 Facebook post, she wrote: “I was never missing. I fled a very abusive, toxic family who abused me sexually since I was a child.”
Local authorities confirmed they are aware of the situation. A spokesperson for Scottish Borders Council said it is working with Police Scotland and has offered Taylor information on housing and other support services.
Her relatives hope she will return to Texas when her visa expires in November.
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