HARARE, April 18: Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe bitterly attacked former colonial ruler Britain on Friday in his first major speech since disputed elections, saying London was paying the population to turn against him.

Mugabe, 84, told 15,000 cheering supporters in a fiery address to mark independence day: “Down with the British. Down with thieves who want to steal our country.”

In a stream of insults against Britain, Mugabe added: “Today they are like thieves fronting their lackeys among us, which they give money to confuse our people.”

Mugabe, in power since independence in 1980, is under heavy international pressure over a delay in releasing results from the March 29 presidential election, which the opposition says was won by its leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

But Mugabe was characteristically defiant in his speech, repeating a familiar line that London and not the opposition Movement for Democratic Change was the real enemy.

“Today they have perfected their tactics to a more subtle form by using money literally to buy some people to turn against their government. We are being bought like livestock,” he said.

The delay in issuing the presidential result has provoked a chorus of criticism, including from the United States and the ruling party in neighbouring South Africa.

The MDC, which handed Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party its biggest defeat in a parallel parliamentary vote, accuses Mugabe of launching a campaign of militia violence to help him rig victory in an expected presidential runoff against Tsvangirai.

Mugabe said the government had intervened to stop independence war veterans from taking up arms against white farmers who were trying to reoccupy land which he has confiscated.

“Zimbabwe will never be a colony again. Never shall we retreat,” said Mugabe, wearing a dark suit and tie and speaking mostly in the local Shona language.

The Harare High Court on Friday dealt a new blow to the MDC, rejecting its bid to prevent a recount on Saturday of 23 out of 210 constituencies in the presidential and parliamentary election.

The recount could overturn the MDC’s parliamentary victory.—Reuters