Only a few months ago, David Simpson,24,was living his dream, piloting a light aircraft to track down wildlife in the African savannah. Now, amid the appalling squalor of Ngaragba jail near Bangui in the Central African Republic, David still finds it impossible to believe the chain of events that brought him to this hellhole, accused of mass murder
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Back in March, David Simpson made a sickening discovery.In a forest,he stumbled upon the mutilated bodies of six young men piled in a clearing. And the next day, seven more bodies nearby. The men had been tied together and horribly beaten to death.
David did what any sane and civilised person would: he reported his discovery to the authorities.
But was surprised at what happened next. David was almost killed by a murderous lynch mob, whipped into a frenzy of hateful retribution.
David was thrown into jail on trumped-up charges of carrying out the brutal massacre he had discovered.Propped up in his cell on a grubby pillow, shivering and sweating simultaneously under a thin cotton sheet, David talked fully for the first time about the shocking events that led to his incarceration.
‘I always suspected Africa was thoroughly brutalised,’ he said. ‘But now I know for sure it’s a place where nobody cares about death.’As he talked, African prisoners lay around him on stained mattresses in the hopeless squalor of the cramped cell. Outside, the yard ran with urine, stinking latrines in one corner.
This is very sad! I hope the truth comes out soon