It’s been more than 16 years since Debora Kayembe fled her home

Edinburgh, Feb 14 (AFP/APP): It’s been more than 16 years since Debora Kayembe fled her home in the Democratic Republic of Congo after learning that a gun-running militia group that she had helped to expose wanted to kill her.

Since then, Kayembe sought asylum in Britain, started a family and settled in Edinburgh, where she worked as a human rights lawyer and political activist. Despite a life filled with hardship and achievement, she said nothing could have prepared her for the message she received on the afternoon of February 1.

The previous November, she was asked if she would consider accepting a nomination to be the new rector of the University of Edinburgh, which was founded in the 16th century. If she was appointed, she would be the university’s first-ever black rector.

She accepted the offer, believing she stood little chance. When the message came that she had been confirmed for the role — 162 years after William Gladstone was made the first rector — Kayembe, 45, was speechless. “It is something in my life I never imagined would happen to me,” she told AFP. “I never went looking for it. It came onto my plate and I welcomed it.