I come from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I had a happy childhood with my family and it seemed like I had a good future. But after my father died, the strain on my mum was terrible. She got sick and had a heart attack; and she was gone. Then things turned bad.

In order to support myself, I dropped out of university and became a trader, travelling in the DRC and other African countries. I also became politically active. I was caught on camera marching against the president of the DRC, Joseph Kabila. Then I was arrested and charged with planning a coup.