Images captured by Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer John Wessel's show the ruins of one of Africa's most famous dictators – President Mobutu Sese Seko. Labelled "Versailles of the Jungle" by Western observers, the palace complex featured swimming pools, a night club, a four-star hotel and an international airport.

Mobutu, who ruled Zaire for 30 years, seized power during the 1960s, following a military coup and the assassination of democratically elected Patrice Lumumba, Mobutu changed the name of the country from Congo to "Zaire" in 1971.

His rule was plagued with claims of nepotism, embezzlement and widespread human rights violations, including public executions of his rivals. His actions caused massive economic inflation, plunging Zaire's citizens into poverty. His hold on the country ended in May 1997, when unpaid soldiers turned against him. He died in Morocco from prostate cancer three months later.

Sese Seko: liked to shop in Paris (Getty)

His palace, Gbadolite, located in the sleepy village of his birth, is perhaps the most notorious mark of his legacy. Robert Block recalled in The Independent that during a rebellion attempt "President Mobutu watched from his mansion, the marbled Versailles of the Jungle that he built in the sleepy village of his birth, eating lobster and sausages, washed back with a vintage wine."

The palace and its grounds are now home to soldiers and their families. The relics of his excess remain, however, and large murals featuring beautiful women cover the walls. The statue to his first wife – Marie Antoinette – still stands next to what's left of his runway, built especially to land a Concorde, which he would regularly charter from Air France for shopping trips to Paris.

The Palace of Mobutu Sese Seko, Congo Show all 11 1 /11 The Palace of Mobutu Sese Seko, Congo The Palace of Mobutu Sese Seko, Congo A portrait of Mobutu Sese Seko hangs at the entrance of his derelict Motel Nzekele, once a five-star hotel Getty The Palace of Mobutu Sese Seko, Congo The late night club known as 'The Red Room' of the derelict Bamboo Palace in Gbadolite. The palace is now used to house soldiers and families of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Getty The Palace of Mobutu Sese Seko, Congo A local chimpanzee, Boss, drinks a soda in the derelict Botanical Gardens, also built by Mobutu Sese Seko Getty The Palace of Mobutu Sese Seko, Congo A statue depicting Marie-Antoinette Mobutu, first wife to Sese Seko, stands in the garden of his derelict Motel Nzekele Getty The Palace of Mobutu Sese Seko, Congo The open tomb of Marie-Antoinette Getty The Palace of Mobutu Sese Seko, Congo Children are seen at an entrance of the derelict Bamboo Palace Getty The Palace of Mobutu Sese Seko, Congo Murals adorn the dilapidated bar of the derelict Bamboo Palace Getty The Palace of Mobutu Sese Seko, Congo Murals on the walls of the restaurant at the Bamboo Palace Getty The Palace of Mobutu Sese Seko, Congo A make shift sleeping area covered by a mosquito net is set-up for a member of the Republican Guard Getty The Palace of Mobutu Sese Seko, Congo A general view of the derelict palace complex Getty The Palace of Mobutu Sese Seko, Congo A member of the Republican Guard is seen scribbling on the wall inside the derelict palace Getty