Newly released video shows the leader of a self-styled African tribe based in Britain cursing a young American woman who later died after being struck by vehicles in her hometown in the United States.
The footage, described by local media as newly unearthed, records Kofi Offeh — who styles himself “King Atehene” of the so-called Kingdom of Kubala — telling 20-year-old A’liya Johnson that she would “cry until she dies” after she demanded to leave the group. Johnson, who had taken the name Lady Safi while with the group, died in Oklahoma City in January 2024 after being hit first by a car and then by a bus, according to reports.
Johnson flew to Britain in March 2023, according to the accounts of people who have followed the group, to join Offeh and his partner Jean Gasho — who calls herself Queen Nandi — as what Offeh described as a concubine. Offeh, 42, who is from Ghana and has described himself in public statements as a messianic figure, and Gasho, 42 and from Zimbabwe, were living with Johnson in a flat in Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham before later relocating and camping in woodlands near Jedburgh in Roxburghshire in May.
Family members have told reporters that Johnson struggled with mental health issues. While with the group she adopted the name Lady Safi, wore what her family described as tribal clothing and painted her face. Gasho posted a photograph showing Johnson cradling her abdomen and hailed a “royal baby” the trio said was expected; other accounts say Johnson was thought to have conceived a child with Offeh one month after arriving in Britain.
Video filmed months after Johnson’s arrival shows a confrontation in which she told the group she would no longer be part of what she called a “false reality,” demanded the return of her phone and insisted on using her birth name. Offeh told her, “We are done,” and in the footage added the curse, saying, “If this doesn’t happen then there is no God in Kubala.”
Months after leaving the group, Johnson was fatally struck in Oklahoma City. Coroner and police statements about the circumstances of her death have not been released publicly in detail by U.K. news outlets covering the video; the accounts in British reporting say she was hit by a car and then a bus in January 2024.
The revelations about Johnson’s treatment in the group have renewed concern for the welfare of another American woman who has become involved with the Kingdom of Kubala. Relatives have reported 21-year-old Kaura Taylor, also known within the group as Lady Safi, missing from her Texas home and have publicly pleaded for her to return. Taylor’s mother, Melba Whitehead, told reporters the group “poses a threat to everyone around them.” Gasho posted in 2024 celebrating the arrival of a replacement handmaiden, saying the woman had left her family and home to become the leader’s second wife.
The three leaders and their followers have been living in tents on private land behind an industrial estate on the outskirts of Jedburgh. Landowners David and Mary Palmer lodged an action in Jedburgh Sheriff Court seeking removal of what they called unauthorised occupiers from the area known as Darnic Parklands. At a hearing reported to have lasted six minutes, Sheriff Peter Patterson issued a decree ordering “immediate extraction” and awarded expenses to cover sheriff officers’ costs.
The eviction decree instructs the occupants to leave the private land. Offeh and members of the group were not represented in court, and journalists who visited the camp relayed the eviction decision to the encampment. Offeh told reporters that the group did not recognize the authority of the landowners or the court, saying they did not believe “any authority owns the land” and asserting that “the creator of the heavens and the Earth is the one with us.” He added that they were “not afraid” of the order or of imprisonment and said if they were forced to leave “the creator will find us another place to go.”
Sheriff Patterson’s decree is intended to allow authorities to remove the occupiers from the land. As of the latest reporting the group remained in the woodlands, and sheriffs were expected to carry out the eviction and any extraction ordered by the court.
The Kingdom of Kubala emerged in British reporting as a small, tightly knit group led by Offeh and Gasho that claimed a lost African dynasty and adopted royal titles. Before the relocation to the Scottish Borders, they had lived in a flat in Stockton-on-Tees. Neighbours and local officials have previously expressed concern about the group’s activities and the welfare of those who left or attempted to leave.
Local officials and police in Scotland have declined to discuss operational details publicly while eviction proceedings and potential removals remain ongoing. U.S. authorities in Oklahoma have not issued public statements linking Johnson’s death to her association with the group in Britain.
Family members of those linked to the camp have urged relatives to come home and sought assistance from local authorities and the media. The group’s continued presence on private land has raised questions about enforcement of court orders and how best to ensure the safety of individuals who become involved with self-styled religious or dynastic movements that cross international borders.