President Mobutu's ruined jungle paradise, Gbadolite - in pictures
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The president of what was then Zaire lavished millions on a palace complex and international airport in the remote town of Gbadolite. Guardian photographer Sean Smith heads for the jungle to document the pitiful shell that remains
Where Concorde once flew: the story of Mobutu’s ‘African Versailles’
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A mural of former President Mobutu outside the mayor’s office in Gbadolite. When Joseph Desire Mobutu took power he renamed himself Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Waza Banga (meaning ‘the all-powerful warrior who, because of endurance and an inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest leaving fire in his wake’)
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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The air-traffic control tower of Gbadolite’s international airport, whose runway is long enough to accommodate Concorde. Now it welcomes only two or three tiny aircraft a week from the UN and a commercial operator
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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Inside the abandoned control tower
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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The VIP arrivals terminal: Pope John Paul II, UN secretary-general Boutros Boutros Ghali and American televangelist Pat Robertson may have all passed through here
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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Inside the main airport terminal
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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The main terminal at Gbadolite airport
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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The Water Ministry building was never finished and is now used as a school
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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Inside the school
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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The Motel Nzekele, built by Mobutu, had five stars when it opened in 1979
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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The motel’s empty swimming pool. Guests reportedly included the pope, the Belgian king and French president François Mitterrand
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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Ripped cinema seating inside the Motel Nzekele
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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An unfinished bridge in Gbadolite
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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The main gates to Mobutu’s private palace still stand. Locals charge visitors $20 to access the former president’s estate
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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The entrance gate and road to the main palace complex
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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Walking among the ruins. Mobutu’s private palace, seven miles outside town in Kawele, once brimmed with paintings, sculptures, stained glass, ersatz Louis XIV furniture and marble from Carrara
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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Francois Kosia Ngama, whose grandmother was a teacher to Mobutu’s mother, stands in the disused swimming pool
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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Mobutu’s palace. In its heyday it employed more than 700 staff - including chauffeurs, chefs and servants - as well as 300 soldiers
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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Inside the palace grounds. Slowly but surely, the palace is being reclaimed by the jungle
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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Inside Mobutu’s bedroom. The entire roof of the palace has gone, leaving only a skeleton of red steel girders
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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A fountain with statues of lions. Only two of the original four remain
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
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