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.
"So... (on) February 1 at 12:30 pm when I was
officially notified that I am the only valid candidate... I thought 'oh my God.
This is it. It has happened'."
Racism to activism
Months before the nomination came, Kayembe had found herself
embroiled in a conflict that she had initially wanted to avoid.
She had been a target of racism before in Scotland.
But the abuse came to a head in June last year as
anti-racism protests erupted around the world after the death of an unarmed
black man, George Floyd, in US police custody.
Kayembe was driving to a meeting when her car lost control
and veered violently off the road.
She inspected the vehicle and found that nails had been
driven through all of her tyres.
"The previous times I had kept quiet," she said.
"Sometimes you have to have a big heart to let things
pass in the common interest, but what happened to me that day was
unacceptable."
Kayembe announced what had happened to her on social media.
But instead of confrontation, she chose to adopt a message
of tolerance and dialogue with the perpetrators of the abuse.
"I said 'listen, these things are from the past',"
she said.
"We have passed that. If you still don't understand
that, I need a dialogue with you. That was my message. Nothing else."
Not long after the incident, Kayembe's daughter returned
home from school and cried because she had been asked by a teacher to perform a
slave dance in front of her classmates.
After confronting the school, Kayembe petitioned the
Scottish Parliament to urgently address racism in education in Scotland.
Parliament has agreed to the request and will debate the
matter in the coming months.
It was Kayembe's message of dialogue and tolerance that
caught the attention of the University of Edinburgh, which counts prime
ministers, Nobel laureates and Olympians among its alumni.
"They said as the rector of the university, your
message will go far and the whole world will listen," she said.
"This is why we want you to take this position."
National pride
Kayembe, who was born in Kinshasa and raised by a doctor,
said her family in the DRC were overwhelmed when they heard the news.
"There is a sentiment of national pride and they are
waiting for the inaugural ceremony in the summer to come to Scotland to see
that with their own eyes," she said.
Her priority after she is inaugurated on March 1 will be to
ensure that the university attracts "the brightest minds in Scotland"
to help it recover after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pandemic has had a positive side effect in opening
opportunities in online education, which Kayembe sees as an opportunity for
Africa.
Kayembe, a member of the Congolese Bar Association since
2000, has not returned to the DRC since she fled. Her life remains under
threat.
But she hopes to use her position as rector over the next
three years to promote the best education for the continent.
"Africa needs education, the best education," she
said.
"My role will be to make sure that is the top of the
agenda."
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