We pride ourselves as being top, really, on the African ladder... We feel that we have actually been advancing rather than going backwards.

British and Australian officials denounced the presence of Mugabe. In recent years Western governments have condemned Mugabe's government. The war raised accusations of corruption with officials alleged to be plundering the Congo's mineral reserves.

An armed conflict between Mugabe's Government and dissident followers of Joshua Nkomo's pro-Marxist ZAPU erupted. Since 2000 the Mugabe-led government embarked on a controversial fast-track land reform program intended to correct the inequitable land distribution created by colonial rule. In 1998 Mugabe's government supported the Southern African Development Community's intervention in the Second Congo War by sending Zimbabwean troops to assist the Kabila government.