Beating Chains: Falsely Accused. Framed. Imprisoned.

by Rusty Labuschagne

‘Few would’ve survived Rusty’s ordeal – an incredible story of hope and resilience’ - Stephen McGown, author of Six Years a Hostage

Rusty Labuschagne has been through a trauma few have experienced and disclosed. 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 served ten years in Zimbabwe’s prisons, including the notorious Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison, where he suffered through food shortages, no running water, and people dying around him daily.

Rusty lost everything he had worked so hard for, but most of all, his freedom. His story is a testament to his extraordinary resilience in conditions most would find unbearable.

He shares the life lessons he learned – how to harness your inner strength, how to forgive, and how to show gratitude – as he found true freedom through sincerity and humility.

Rusty’s is an inspiring story of true grit in the face of great adversity, of a man who loses everything as he is broken by a corrupt political system, but who then rises to fight that system on his own terms. In doing so he rebuilds himself from the inside out.

405 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 10, 2022

Reviews

[Phumlani · Rating 3 out of 5]

It starts off as a memoir/auto biography and morphs into a self help/motivational book somewhere along the way. The writer does say he’s now a professional speaker and I get the feeling he wrote the latter parts of the book when he had transitioned into being a speaker . It’s a book about triumph in the face of adversity and boy did the author face adversity. There were parts that really made me want to throw up and there were parts that made me hate Mugabe and his regime even more and I didn’t think it was possible to hate him and his administration any more.
A good book, filled with many heart warning nostalgic tidbits and an equal amount of infuriating injustices. It casts a light on a system that is meant to reform and rehabilitate offenders (or in this case, the wrongfully imprisoned) but Instead becomes a theatre for sadistic officials to break and damn near kill.
The book could have been better with a little more editing. I caught a few spelling errors that an editor with a fine toothed comb would have picked up e.g in one part he describes himself as being “a highly sort after” speaker, there are a few errors of that nature but they don’t ruin the overall experience of reading it.
It’s an excellent effort if you consider that it was a book that was written on a phone that was smuggled into prison by a man who had a whole institution trying hard to break.

[Sandra Zaayman · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Beating Chains" is a captivating memoir. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories about his life in Zimbabwe and his African safari dream. Rusty's vivid descriptions made me feel like I was right there with him, experiencing the beauty and adventure of Africa.

The parts about his time in prison were deeply upsetting. It was shocking to read about the horrific treatment of prisoners and hard to imagine how anyone could endure such conditions. Rusty's strength and resilience in such a dire situation is truly inspiring.

Overall, "Beating Chains" is a powerful read that highlights the extremes of human experience and the unbreakable spirit. I highly recommend it.

[jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am about to go on mission to Zimbabwe

Wow my fear friend Barbie recommended this book to.me. I am going on mission to Kwekkwe and Chinhoyi in September. We shall be ministering in two prisons . This book was truly an answer to prayer for me. It is an amazing account of a innocent man's ten years in prisons . Read it for yourself and be encouraged by this man's story. Bless you Rusty and Sandra