Victory over Injustice: with Rusty Labuschagne

Against police evidence, without a body and on presumptions, Rusty Labuschagne was convicted of drowning a fish poacher during Mugabe’s rule. He served 10 years in Zimbabwe’s prisons, including the notorious Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison, where he suffered through the Zim dollar crash, with food shortages, no running water, and people dying around him daily.

He speaks eloquently about being subjected to conditions most people would find unendurable, having to dig deep within himself to find solutions to an unbearable situation. His resilience, ability to face adversity, and pure grit are an unparalleled inspiration.

After years of bitterness and anger, Rusty learned how to forgive those who had caused
his suffering. He found that who you are and the depth of your determination
will get you through life’s darkest moments. Learn how to harness your inner
strength and let go of what you cannot control. Ultimately, it was faith in
God, a positive mental attitude, and lessons in forgiveness, gratitude, and
humility that probably saved his life.

 Connect with Rusty at https://beatingchans.com

 Guest Bio:

Rusty Labuschagne is a unique premier speaker on the professional circuit. One is immediately struck by his sincerity and humility as he delivers a dramatic account of his transformational experience. Rusty has been through a trauma few have experienced. In 2003, the successful Zimbabwean businessman, who ran a safari outfit, flew his own aircraft, and had a fishing resort on Lake Kariba, was framed by a poacher, the police, and the courts, and wrongfully convicted of drowning a poacher.

 He talks and writes about being subjected to conditions most people would find unbearable, having to draw on his inner resources and strengths to endure the unimaginable. In the process, he developed not only a life-saving resilience but also empathy and a keen desire to help his fellow inmates. His faith in God, positive mental attitude, leadership qualities, and lessons in forgiveness, gratitude, and humility bring a personal, transformative, and authentic message of hope and freedom.

 In his book and to audiences, Rusty’s message is that everyone is faced with challenges, but it is who you are and the depth of your determination that will get you through life’s darkest moments. He shows how one can harness one’s inner strength and let go of what one cannot control. His talks have a broad audience appeal, from leadership lessons for CEOs and managers to inspiration and staff members’ motivation. They will all feel an impact.

Transcript

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Welcome to Radical Abundance. I'm your host, Teresa Janzen have you ever felt like the world is just completely unjust, and have you maybe even been a victim of that injustice, knowing that God is sovereign and in control and can even use evil and injustice to bring. Good purpose is what we're going to be talking about today. Our guest, rusty and Sandra Labuschagne have a lot to say about how God will use anything, even something as extreme as being imprisoned in a foreign country to bring about his good purpose. Rusty and Sandra, welcome to Radical Abundance. Thank you, Teresa. Thank you. Lovely to be on your. Yeah. Thank you. Well, I want to just jump into your story and I know a little bit about it. Take our listeners back to that time where the story begins, the heart of the story. What happened, therea, I I come from humble beginnings from a cattle launching background became very successful. And in 2000 during the landed version car in Zimbio. I got to the place where I was flying my own aircraft. I had five safari concessions, a fishing resort on Lake c Reba, and Zimbabwe. And life was fantastic. And I was on a fishing trip at my fishing resort with some friends and a friend of mine, and I decided to go tiger fishing on the lake, leaving the other guys Bre fishing in the river. And on our way back, we spotted two fish poachers in a steel boat. And knowing they were notorious poaches, I drove my boat towards them to scare them off. And the wake up my boat tilted their boat, causing them to jump out into the water, which was about five, five feet deep. And there were about three yards from the shore. The students scrambled to dry land, and my friend and I, I then washed as they ran way into the bush and thought nothing more of it. The following day, the police arrived with one of the poachers and accused us of drowning the other. But long story short, I was framed by the poach of the police and the courts in an ugly politically influenced conspiracy and sentenced to 15 years in Zimbabwe's prisons, of which five were removed as remission. My co accused only got a $10 fine and not set free because there was no driving a boat, and that's exactly as it was stated in the judgment against police evidence without a body and not presumption. I was convicted of and served 10 years in Zimbabwe's presence. I can't imagine that Zimbabwe's prisons are very comfortable. And so maybe you can give us a, a bit of a picture of that. But first, this very idea of knowing that you are completely in innocent. In fact, you were doing the right. Thing trying to scare off these poachers and I was, boy, have you ever been dinged for doing the right thing? And that's a pretty big thing there to spend 10 years in a Zimbabwe prison. As a result, what were those next 10 years like for you? You arrive at the prison and the first thing they do is they make you strip naked. So when you walk into into the exercise yard, you walk in stock. And everything you wear, read, write, eat, drink. Hearsay is all controlled. You have no control of anything but the humiliation of me walking into a prison with a thousand guys stock naked is something else I should. I sell 13 yards long by three yards wide with 78 other guys. That each person had 13 inches marked out on the walls in chalk. That was your space. We were packed like sods on our sides with legs all crossing over in the middle, and we all faced the same direction. When you turned over, it was all together as cushioning against the cold concrete floor. You'd fold two of your paper thin, worn out last wooden blankets several times to fit your 13. And you'd cover yourself with a third blanket. Your clothes were wrapped around your toothbrush and toothpaste, or the head gets stolen, and that was your pillow from sleeping on those freezing hot floors. My hips had bruised black rings for years and shoulders still give trouble today. There are no, there's no furniture whatsoever in a prison in Zimbabwe. There's no beds, tables, chairs, cupboards, nothing. Not even a mirror. I didn't see my face for the first eight. It's just rows of faulty folded blankets and hundreds of world used water bottles on bare concrete floors. For the first eight years, only one set of clothing was allowed. At any one time, underwear was forbidden. After six months, you got a change of clothing sometimes. Other times, after nine months living us walking around in TEUs, there were no basins or tap in the cells. Only one set of clothing was allowed at any one time. So we had to wash our clothes in the cell toilets at night wearing a blanket, then hang them on the walls with smuggled book staples to draw by the next morning in 2005, Harari City ran out of water for three years while Urbi Maxima maximum security prison, each prisoner was allocated only one plastic cup of water a. One cup of dirty Orange City Rhino water from nearby dam catered by farm prisoners. That was to drink, clean your teeth, wash your face, bath, everything for three years. And that's when I really started dying. In my first six years, I watched over 2,200 guys die, primarily from malnutrition. It adjourn the Zimbabwe dollar crash. When there was no food outside of prison, nevermind in there. Now just remember I went in prison in 2003 and I was released in two 13. So there was azi dollar crash, there was the world economic crash in 2008. So, and the whole world changed therea from, from the thought of taking a picture with a phone and sending it to someone that was like ths in two 13. I mean, all the social media, everything started in that time in the fir in in when I was moved to a medium security prison in Aari Central Prison, out of 1,200 of US prisoners at Aari Central Prison, 432 guys died. That's more than one third of us in eight months. I want to get to some of the life lessons I learned in. In my first year, I was full of anger, hatred, and bitterness. I mean, you know, when you go in there as an innocent man, it eats away at you and every level, anger, bitterness, hatred, and, and I lie there for hours wishing every terrible thing on each of them. In turn, the poach, the police, the judge, the ministry and all who involved in my conviction. And then one day I was struck by the realization that they'd all forgotten about me long ago. Here I was. Consumed by the unfairness of it all, and they blissfully unaware of the, of the evil I watched on them every day. In the end, I was only hurting myself. I was carrying all that in my head and beating myself up for nothing. The single biggest lesson I learned in prison was true forgiveness, and for me, it was bigger than anything I could have achieved on my own. True forgiveness was inspired by Almighty and so was letting. It was a huge weight of my shoulders and I learned to live in the moment from then on because the past was too painful and the future full of unkept promises. So I just dealt with these days. It was, I learned to have faith because no amount of worrying was gonna change what I was going through. If you have anger or resentment towards anyone in any way, it'll eventually destroy. Because that is what those emotions do. They steal from you. They steal happiness and freedom. And many people asked me how I managed to forgive them, what they did to me. And I remember the exact moment Thereza walking in that exercise yard. It was after about a year, and I was tired of all the anger, hatred, and bitterness that was draining me daily. And I remember looking up and I just said to myself, Lord, take care of them and let me get through this road that's been put in front of me. What goes around comes around. They will get their judgment there. And the amazing thing was there, it was, it wasn't a gradual process of forgiving, it was an instant mindset change. It was, it was an instant release. It was like, like I was holding a secret for years and years. So worried that people were gonna find out. And then one day I just decided, I'm gonna tell the guys, it was like, it's art, it's over. And it was that, it was that mindset change. It was, it was freeing myself. It was nothing to do with. And that's the lesson in forgiveness. And it's such a, you know, you can forgive, forget, and move forward, or you can retain, remember, and regret the choice is yours. And if you say, I'll forgive, but I'll never forget, then you still remember and will never move forward. You can't bounce back from anything unless you forgive those who you believe have done your wrong. And only when you forgive and let go of the past, can you be fully free to move forward with your full. Teresa, one of the other big lessons I learned was gratitude. You know, we all want too much in our lives and concentrating on what we haven't got, instead of being grateful for what we have. And for me, giving thanks to God every day goes a long way for my health. A beautiful family, a lovely home, a soft bed, running water, and so on. When there's no food, no water and people are dying all around you, you become grateful for, for the fact that you are still breath. And another day is a blessing. When you line a cell with 78 other guys and your breath is, is not even your own gratitude suddenly has a different meaning altogether. Accepting that what I went through cannot be changed and being grateful for what it taught me as unlocked my vision for my future, the healthiest of all of all human emotions as gratitude. Remember that and practice. Having an attitude of gratitude is one of the most impactful habits for fulfilling and healthy life. After being moved to a farm prison after eight years, I was moved to to a farm prison, and it was my first evening sitting around in open fire on old logs and bleach cattle skulls, chatting with old in inmates in the as a tribe in Zimbabwe. Just taking me back to what I loved to deal as a child, and I remember. Getting lost in their interesting stories and the beauty of the sunset and the dancing flames, the tranquil call of a nacho and the bright stars in the moon, which I hadn't seen for eight lonely long years. I never saw a sunset or sunrise either for eight years and now I appreciate the everyday little things in life, like a soft bed, a hot bath, a tasty meal, a spontaneous kettle from my loved. because those are the things you miss most when you have it all taken away. There are things we know that rejuvenate us. For me, it has all been nature. I am and will forever be a farm boy from Zimbabwe. Nature's in my blood, touching a tree, smelling the earth, the feeling of soil in my hands. These things bring me restoration. And for you it might be. Hang out to friends, dancing, reading a good book or swimming in the ocean, whatever is good for you, do more of it. There are many other life lessons that I learned there, but, but I want to touch on an encounter I had with the Lord that changed my life completely because the, the death rate was so bad. In 2000 and June, 2006, prison headquarters started allowing relative. To deliver food to their loved one daily. And my darling sister sold a business and gather per career just to feed me for four years. And I can honestly say that without her, I wouldn't be sitting here today. I'm truly blessed to have in my life. Anyway, she, she came to, I'd been moved to a medium security prison, which is very different to maximum security. Maximum security locked up for 12, 20 hours a day in a cell. You only allowed out four hours in the exercise yard. Medium security allowed out eight hours. So it's, it's very different. She came to the prison and she said to me, whilst delivering food one day, do you want an iPod? So I said, oh, what's an iPod? She said, it's a thing that plays music. So I said, well, how big is it? And she indicated this small flat little thing. So I said, well, how many songs does it play? She said, about a thousand. I said, no worries. So where'd you put all the CDs? There's so much technology in advance, and Jia is six years. I've been away. Anyway, the following day, the Potter arrived under the salad and about a week later, a cell phone or sneaked in tune one of those cheap Nokia cell phones with a rechargeable battery back in 2009. Everything was going smoothly and you couldn't dream of doing that in a maximum security prison. This is medium security prison. After about three months, everything going perfectly, an envious prisoner reported me of unexpected search unbelievably through some quick maneuvering with onside gods. Nothing was discovered, but I was sinology confinement anyway, for two years. That was unbelievably lonely. But after experiencing that precious little link to the outside world, I had to get my phone back and I did, which was amazing. I mean, I had wonderful guards charging batteries. I had two batteries, and everything was going perfectly until after 18 months. One of the friendly guards approached my bowel at five in the morning, and with the address, they're coming for your phone and there's no way of getting a phone out of there. Someone had brought me a protein powder about a month before, and I'd never seen it before, and it had to go through the doctor and security. It was a big, big story to get it in there, and when I got it, I opened it, broke a silver seal, tasted it. When I put the seal back and closed it, the next time I opened that seal, it stuck. So I saved it to have my phone. So that morning I opened it, broke the seal, took off the powder out, wrapped the fun in plastic, put it in, put the powder back, put the. Put the lid on six o'clock, the guards arrive. What they do is they make you strip naked, then you jump with your legs open like you're hiding something. Then we all walk out stock naked into the Godard, and there's 1200 guys and they do the search. So after the search, I've come back into my cell and everything is upside down everywhere, but my protein powder still in good shape. Five minutes later I'm summoned to the, the security office and I walk in there and therefore God standing. One seated behind a desk and an empty chair. Now, I hadn't sat in a chair for seven and a half years and he says to me, check your seat. So I sat down, felt good. He said, do you have a girlfriend called Karen? So I said, no. I said, I had one before prison called Karen. He said, okay. When did you last talk to her? I said, long ago before prison. He said, are you sure? I said, yeah. Said, handed me a letter addressed to me from Karen. So nice talking to you on the phone the other night. She sounds so positive. After some intense questioning, this Lord just came to me and I said, no. Karen was having lunch in and she met this lady and they soon realized that they were both had boyfriends in the same prison. So the lady said, let me call my boyfriend, who's a God in there, and he can call Russ and you guys can have a chat, so I'll use the God's phone. But out there, couldn't tell'em what the girl's name was. They didn't. An hour later escorted up to the Officer George's office. When you go up there, it's big trouble. And I walk in there and they were waiting. There's like 15 big brass officers all standing in a half circle of George behind his big desk and my empty chair in the middle, he says, take a seat. So I sat down. He said, if you don't tell me what that girl's name is, your life and this prison is gonna change. I said, officer, I don't know his. And then the question started, how tall was he? How old? What drank? Where did you make the call? How long ago did you make the call? And I answered as best I could. And they were getting furious cuz they couldn't nail in anything. And then the head of the soccer said to me, do you wanna talk to docs in charge on your own? So I said, yes, please. So they all leave. I closed it on him and I got on really well. I said, officer, we've both been through hell. We watched hundreds of guys die. I've donated endless stuff to the prison service, soccer balls, volleyball. Volleyball, net soccer boots and uni uniforms for the squad. I said, can't you just let the song go? I mean, the guard was stealing flat out there. Everyone, the country was in a mess. He said, Russ, I don't care about you, but I want that God's name now. He was furious. So I said, officer, I don't know his name. I don't know his name. So he said, okay, okay. He calls the gods. He says, put him on death row in the dark. So they escort me over to the condemn section. They used to hang us in those days and there were 56 cells 52 had guys waiting to be young, and there were four four empty cells. And one of them was called the dark cell. The cells are three meters, three yards long, one yard wide, and three yards tall with a vent. And the only vent was covered by a staircase. So, and the electric light didn't work, so you couldn't see anything. It was pitch. They made me strip naked, gave me three worn out, filthy, last wooden blankets five liter, which is a gallon container, cut off the top as a toilet, same as solitary, and one liter of water. And my sory cell was identical three yards by one yard, by three yard. They locked me in there for 23 hours and 45 minutes a day. So I was allowed out five minutes in the morning to clean my teeth, five minutes at 10 o'clock to have a. Five minutes at three o'clock to prepare for lockup. It was cold, lonely, and dark, like being buried alive. I couldn't even see my hand. Now I remember walking and just holding the walls and turning around and walking, doing press ups and carry on walking just to, just to keep my mind, okay. After day six there, and I tested my faith all along and prayed like crazy and nothing happened. So, so I hadn't prayed for for a long time, but I got on my. And I prayed to God for help and I'll never forget the feeling of like warm water being pulled over me and a total sense of calmness. So I sat on the floor leaning against the wall. Within 30 minutes, I faintly heard my off dancem mate shutting from the soccer ground. Hey Ra, everything's okay, my mate, don't worry, everything's okay. So I jumped up, I said, air fool. He said, don't worry, Russ, everything's okay. So I thought, okay, let on the concrete, looking up at the darkness. Within 10 minutes to unlock my door gun. Those bolt, that noise goes right through You chuck me, my clothes, said the officer George wants to see you. I get dressed, I go up into the blinding sun, cross the court yard up the stair street office, and his exact words were, he said, hello, Russ. I said, hello, officer. He said, have you remember the girl's name yet? I said, no, officer. He said, I'll, I'll tell you what I'm gonna. I'm gonna leave it in God's hands. You can go back to yourself. And at the exact moment when I was praying, the sister was paying him 200 US dollars to get me out of there. And that was a huge turning point in my spiritual life. You know, Abram and, and then when he came, became a Abraham, he had to change the truth sometimes to, to get by. And my life has changed unbelievably. You know, I still didn't go home for two and a half. But I knew that there was a bigger picture. I knew somehow inside that there were bigger plans For me, it, it was extremely hard to make sense of it all back then, but I see it so clearly now how the Lord was working with me. You know, before Britain I was a, a big fish in a little pool going nowhere, A little bull wire. It's a city in Zimbabwe and, and I was one of the big players in there. And it was all about me, Theresa. It was all about my empire and my money and more and more. And, and when is enough enough, you know? And now I'm a little fish in a whole wide world making a huge difference. And it's about others. It's about other people. It's not about me anymore. It's about changing, changing other people's lives and, and I now have a purpose and the satisfaction I get from helping. Far outweighs the millions I was making before. And, and the lesson here there is, is no matter what hardships you're going through in life, just remember that you're being prepared for where you're going. God has a plan for each and every one of us, and I see that so clearly in my life now. Yeah, that is just an amazing story and I just thank you for going through that whole thing. I can't even imagine that level of peace and such a hard, hard situation. Sandra, I wanna give you a chance before we go, do you have anything that you wanna say to the radical abundance audience? I came from a place where I had the career, the big house, the cars, the material. And I did have a bit of peace, but nothing luck today. And since I met Rusty, it's really a divine appointment from the Lord because we came together where we had nothing and we, you know, I was 53 when I met him, so it's much later in life. So there's always hope when you think that it's the end and your life is over and you lose everything. When you've got the Lord in your life and you trust him, he always restores. He's always there. He really is. It's just been a wonderful journey the last six years. Rusty and I have had so many experiences with, with the Lord and what he's done for us. Just small things, and it's not about us anymore. It's not about building our life and our empire. It's really about. Helping people, you know, the Lord's given us that heart that whatever he wants us to do, we wanna do for him. After hearing this story, there aren't going to be many people complaining about their lot in life. This is such a testimony because, you know, I could easily say Rusty and Sandra, you are amazing people, but you were absolutely right that this type of forgiveness and finding gratitude in these circum. It is not humanly possible. And so the glory goes to God because he gave that to you out of his grace and mercy, and now you've shared it with us. So thank you for being on radical abundance today. We definitely have seen an abundance of God's grace and mercy. And the our time is up. I'm sorry to say. And Rusty, and I wish you a radically abundant day. Thank you so much, therea. Thank you Therea. Thank you Jesus.