12/09/2025
MEET OUR PHENOMENAL SPEAKER DR DEBORA KAYEMBE
Debora Kayembe’s journey began in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where she was raised by her aunt and uncle after her parents separated during civil war.
“Childhood wise I was born in a sheltered family but was looked after outside of my biological parents. I stayed with my aunt and her family. I was a child who had very little time to enjoy childhood and I was very serious as I was raised by other people. So I took my education very seriously. I was really grateful to my aunty and uncle as they provided for my education at a time when the Congolese state refused to pay for our education beyond the basics. It was seen as something for men. Even as a young woman I was conscious that without my education there was no other freedom.”
Breaking family tradition, Debora became the first girl in her family to go to university and the only one to enter law school and qualify at the bar. At just 19, she was already a student leader and activist.
“At 19 I attended university and that same year my country survived a civil war… Female rights really collapsed as a result, so I joined to fight for female education rights whilst a student… By the time I finished university I was second in command to the president of the Student Association… You could definitely say it was breaking barriers.”
Her activism was dangerous. During her fourth year, she exposed the assassination of a young woman by a presidential guard. “I built the story, gathered the evidence and even had a picture. I brought this to the first human rights commissioning body in Kinshasa and reported the murder. It turned out to be a major breakthrough.”
This led to an internship with the UN Security Council. She quickly rose, becoming the youngest barrister in Congolese history at 25. But her activism also put her life at risk.
“The other male lawyers used to call me ‘the little lady’… I became very successful quickly… but when the situation turned again to a violent civil war, I was invited to take part in the peace talks process alongside Nelson Mandela.”
She was later appointed special envoy to the human rights commission, but exposing corruption left her in danger. “When I began exposing these issues my life was in danger and I left.”
Debora arrived in the UK in 2005 seeking asylum. “This is a time in my life where I felt very small. The treatment by immigration was inhumane… I did not feel humiliated as they did not know who I was but they just saw a black woman sitting in an asylum with no respect and no dignity.”
Separated from her husband and raising two young children alone, she credits the NHS with saving her. “They gave me my life back through counselling.”
Her qualifications were not recognised in London, but Scotland opened the door. Moving to Bonnyrigg, she recalled: “I remember stopping with my kids at the border and they asked what was written on a sign. It read: ‘Welcome to Scotland the land of the brave.’ I turned to my kids and said we are brave, we are one of them.”
Debora worked as a translator and later became involved with the Scottish Refugee Council. A speech at the Scottish Parliament led to her joining the Young Academy of Scotland and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
“I got into this big place, with huge portraits of white males looking glorious in their robes, and I remember saying to myself that it will take another 1,000 years for a black person to be on these walls.”
Her work has since spanned law, activism, and advocacy, shaping her legacy as a lawyer, humanitarian, and leader who continues to break barriers.
And her portrait below now hangs on those walls.
