Speaking at the Chinhoyi University of Technology, Mugabe who turned 85 last Saturday said: “They must vacate those farms.”

The small crowd that turned up for the birthday bash looked bemused as Mugabe laid into the white farmers.

At the height of the country’s agricultural success, before the land invasions of 2000, there were about 4000 white farmers. Only 400 remain today.

“Let not the original owners of the farms refuse to vacate those farms,” warned Mugabe.

He dismissed the recent ruling by the Sadc tribunal in Namibia which ruled in favour of white farmers in Zimbabwe.

“That is nonsense, absolute nonsense,” said Mugabe. “No one accepts that.”

“We have courts here in this country than can determine the rights of people.”

The octogenarian took time to thank the 21st February Movement – aptly named after his birthday – for organising the bash.

“We must fill our bellies today,” said Mugabe.

Later Mugabe struggled to cut his birthday cake and had to rely on the energy of his wife, Grace – four decades his junior – to do the job.

With a red scarf around his neck Mugabe was joined by his family in sampling the huge rectangular cake. After they had their fill the cake was shared out to guests.

However, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who had been invited, was conspicuous by his absence.

The MDC-T leader has declared fresh land grabs illegal and against the spirit of the power sharing arrangement.

Requests for guests to wear garments emblazoned with portraits of Mugabe were largely ignored.

The only time the small crowd of about 4 000 people showed any real interest in the event was when Mugabe said it was now time to eat and drink.

Seven million of Zimbabwe’s nine million people face severe food shortages, according to the UN.

Mugabe skirted the issue of his retirement and instead spoke of elections once a new constitution was in place.

“I shall always to the best of my ability continue to walk the same path that I have walked in the past, to respect the interests of the people, to take the interests of the people as the guide posts of the leadership,” said Mugabe.

“Otherwise if the leadership follows its own interests it immediately will have lost its direction.”

Mugabe’s insistence on remaining at the helm of power put paid to a groundswell of rumours in Harare that he would announce his retirement during his birthday bash.