HARARE, Sept 25, 2008 (AFP) - Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe has described the resignation of neighbouring South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki as 'devastating,' a state newspaper said Thursday.

'It's devastating news that President Mbeki is no longer president of South Africa, but that is the action of the South African people,' Mugabe was quoted in the Herald as saying on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

'Who are we to judge them? But it is very disturbing.'

Mbeki was ordered to step down last weekend by the governing African National Congress (ANC) after a court ruling suggested he may have influenced the prosecution to charge his political rival Jacob Zuma.

He has denied the claims.

The ouster came a week after Mbeki brokered the signing of a power-sharing between Mugabe and his opposition rivals Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara.

Mbeki -- often criticised for his 'quiet diplomacy' towards Zimbabwe -- was tasked by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to mediate a political deadlock between Mugabe's ZANU-PF and the opposition.

The three political rivals agreed to form an all-inclusive government, but discussions stalled last week over the distribution of key ministries.