Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s proclamation that the country will next year leave the United Nations has been met with derision from Zimbabwe citizens, political leaders and agency heads.

The statement, made to Zanu PF supporters over the weekend as Mugabe returned from the UGNA in New York, variously has been called insane, delusional and suicidal, according to local media outlets.

The Daily News, in a scathing editorial response, said Mugabe’s remarks were directed to an “injudicious cohort” that fails to hold the president accountable for decades of corruption and misrule.

“The UN Security Council did not contribute to the demise of Zimbabwe’s once promising economy,” the editorial said. Rather, the international body has protected millions of Zimbabwean lives through aid programs, and pulling out of the United Nations does nothing to solve the country’s problems at home.

Mugabe said the African Union will next year form a splinter group along with nations like China, Russia and India, if it does not get a permanent seat on the council. Mugabe said the plan, which would neutralize the power of France, the U.K. and the U.S., was discussed in New York with Zimbabwe at the table. There are no confirming reports from other nations that they plan to move forward next September, as Mugabe indicated.

African nations have requested two seats on the council for more than a decade, and many African leaders expect to see the continent receive more parity. However, leaders in Zimbabwe said this ill-advised announcement was reckless and undiplomatic, and serves as further evidence that Mugabe’s leadership does not serve the best interests of the nation.

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