Rusty finds new purpose after Zim prison ordeal

• Published date: 10 December 2021
• Author: Tauriq Hassen tauriq.hassen@inl.co.za
• Publication title: Sentinel News

But in 2003, the former Zimbabwean businessman lost everything after a court convicted him for drowning a man near his fishing resort

He was sentenced to 15 years in a Zimbabwean jail and was moved around to various prisons in the country. He spent hundreds of thousands of rand trying to prove his innocence and fighting the system.

Eventually, after 10 years, he was released from prison.

In an interview with The Saturday Star last month, Mr Labuschagne described the circumstances leading to his imprisonment.

“I went on a fishing trip with friends to my fishing resort on Lake Kariba in December 2000. Late one afternoon, one of my mates (Spike Claasen) and I decided to go tiger fishing on the lake, leaving the other guys bream fishing in a river section.

“On our way back, we spotted two fish poachers in a steel boat, who immediately, upon seeing us, started paddling hastily for the shore in an effort to get away from us. Knowing that they were notorious poachers, I drove my boat towards them to scare them off, and the wake of my boat tilted theirs, causing them to jump out into the water, which was about 1.5m deep.

“They were about three metres from the shore and soon scrambled to dry land. Spike and I then watched as they ran away into the bush, and thought nothing more of it.

“The following day, the police arrived and accused us of drowning one of those poachers. I was framed by the poacher, the police, and the courts, in an ugly politically influenced conspiracy and sentenced to 15 years in prison, of which five were removed as remission.

“Unbelievably, Spike only got a $10 fine and was set free because he was not driving the boat.”

Mr Labuschagne’s 10-years behind bars included a stint in the notorious Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison, where food shortages were common, there was no running water and people were dying around him daily.

“After eight years, I was transferred to a farm prison where I managed to acquire a smuggled iPhone,” he tells the Sentinel. “It occurred to me that my ordeal and the life lessons I learned from it would inspire people and change many lives, especially during the economic meltdown of Zimbabwe between 2005 and 2009.

“Being concerned about forgetting important details, I began scripting my experiences on my cellphone and emailing them to myself for safekeeping. There were hundreds of emails in no particular order.

“After five years of being free, I decided I was ready to confront the process, which was part of my healing...