Debora Kayembe Buba (born in April 1975) is a Scottish human rights lawyer and political activist. She has served on the board of the

Scottish Refugee Council The Scottish Refugee Council is a registered charity that provides advice and services to asylum seekers and refugees. The objective of the organisation is ‘building a better future with refugees in Scotland’. The charity was formed in E ...

, and is a member of the office of the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Court Bar Association.

Background in the DRC

She originally comes from the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

(DRC). Educated at the Universite Libre de Kinshasa, Kayembe was a

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

with the

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

''Toges noires'' (Black Togas) before her career as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

began with the Congolese Bar Association in 2000. Her role extended to investigating foreign investment

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

in the DRC. Kayembe was part of a delegation sent by President Joseph Kabila to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

aiming to establish a commission to investigate human rights in DRC. This led her to investigate a

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

Bunia Bunia is the capital city of Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It was part of the Orientale Province until that province's dissolution. It lies at an elevation of on a plateau about west of Lake Albert in the Albe ...

in the

Second Congo War The Second Congo War,, group=lower-alpha also known as the Great War of Africa or the Great African War and sometimes referred to as the African World War, began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 1998, little more than a year a ...

, for which any honest reporting on the horrors she investigated may have put herself in jeopardy, she was advised. Thus she emigrated to the United Kingdom as a

political asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another enti ...

refugee in 2005, in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

, near Manchester with assistance from her MP

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...

ensuring she was not expelled, and got final permission to remain granted in 2007. Debora Kayembe has two children.

Experiences in the UK

Her legal qualifications are recognised in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

(though not in

English Law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, be ...

) and so she moved there in 2011. Kayembe is fluent in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Lingala Lingala (Ngala) (Lingala: ''Lingála'') is a Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree in ...

Kikongo Kongo or Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Angola. It is a tonal language. It was spoken by many of those who were taken from th ...

and Swahili acting as translator for refugees and patients in

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

hospitals. She has served on the Institute of Translation and Interpreting for ten years (to 2020). She is a member of the

Scottish Socialist Party The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP; gd, Pàrtaidh Sòisealach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Socialist Pairtie) is a left-wing political party campaigning for the establishment of an independent socialist Scotland. The party was founded in 1998. It c ...

, and sat on its Executive Committee from September 2015 to January 2021. Her other roles include representing

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

s on the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

Young Academy of Scotland The Young Academy of Scotland is a Scottish organization of young people from the sciences humanities, professions, arts, business and civil society. It was established by the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2011. The members (equal numbers of w ...

and is their expert lawyer for the RSE working group for

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. In 2017, Kayembe founded a

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

''Full Options'', promoting human rights and peace. In 2019, she became the first African to have her portrait erected on the wall of the

, honouring her achievements and contributions. In 2020, Kayembe faced racist attacks on her home in

Bonnyrigg Bonnyrigg ( sco, Bonnyrigg) is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, eight miles (13 kilometres) southeast of Edinburgh city centre. The town had a population of 14,663 in the 2001 census which rose to 15,677 in the 2011 census, both figures based ...

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...

and later in relation to her election as rector. She started the Freedom Walk campaign, a civil rights movement lobbying on behalf of citizens and petitioning by promoting social reforms, racial justice and community harmony, in particularly with regard to educational racism.

Rector election

In February 2021 when she was elected

Rector of the University of Edinburgh The Lord Rector of The University of Edinburgh is elected every three years by the students and staff at The University of Edinburgh. Seldom referred to as ''Lord Rector'', the incumbent is more commonly known just as the ''Rector''. Role Th ...

, Kayembe became the third woman since 1858 to hold the role just after

Muriel Gray Muriel Janet Gray FRSE (born 30 August 1958) is a Scottish author, broadcaster and journalist. She came to public notice as an interviewer on Channel 4's alternative pop-show ''The Tube'', and then appeared as a regular presenter on BBC radio ...

and Ann Henderson. Her appointment was welcomed by her local MP

Owen Thompson Owen George Thompson (born 17 March 1978) is a Scottish National Party politician currently serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Midlothian. He was elected in 2015, defeated at the 2017 general election, and regained the seat at the 20 ...

with a call for changes in the UK immigration laws. Kayembe's focus as Rector for the three years will be on the Covid-19 pandemic, fighting racism, encouraging diversity and equal access to higher education. In welcoming her to the University, Principal and Vice Chancellor Professor Peter Mathieson was looking forwards to working with her to 'build a bright future for the entire University'.

External sources (media)

* BBC interview https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08p8lqm * Debora Kayembe Official youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPjFcSwigkzEoGtcKhVbNoA

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kayembe, Debora Living people 1970s births 21st-century Scottish lawyers Scottish Socialist Party politicians People from Midlothian Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to Scotland Black British women politicians Rectors of the University of Edinburgh Human rights lawyers Scottish women in politics Alumni of Heriot-Watt University Alumni of the University of Strathclyde People from Kinshasa Black British lawyers