Staff Reporter |An angry Matobo headman in Natisa Village some 15kms away from President Robert Mugabe’s birthday celebrations venue has defied ZANU PF orders for him to force match his subjects to attend the massive bash quizzing whether the ruling party was rehearsing for Mugabe’s funeral by forcing numbers for his birthday.

The elderly village head was speaking to ZimEye.com in Bulawayo this morning where he claims to have come for refuge to escape abuse by ZANU PF militia gangs who are forcing traditional leaders to frog match people to Mugabe’s birthday.

The headman told ZimEye.com that he will be going back to his home after the weekend when the celebrations are over as he cannot stand being harassed by “young people” who are flocking to his home everyday to check on progress in compiling the list of people from the village who must all attend the celebrations.

“I am old and unwell as you can see, I can no longer manage to do some of the things these people want us to do just for someone’s birthday,” said the emotional old man.

“The way they are doing their things is as if this is Mugabe’s last birthday. We can’t stand the harassment.” he said.

The organisers of the bash have set a target of getting 200 000 people to attend the celebrations and to achieve that number people living within the Matobo district have all been ordered to attend. Each ward in the district has been allocated four trucks to ferry people to the birthday celebrations.

Three trains have also been set out to ferry people from Matabeleland South, Matabeleland North and Harare. The trains which will carry people for free to Bulawayo will leave Harare, Victoria Falls and Beitbridge simultaneously at 7pm tonight destined for Bulawayo’s Heany Junction station where buses and trucks will be on standby to received the passengers and take them to Matopos early tomorrow morning.

All government owned ZUPCO buses from all over the country have been recalled from their normal service to ferry the guests. Government schools have also been ordered to release all their school buses to augment the transport for the guests.