from the Police in Rushinga on what had become of the investigation. In fact the general feedback received from the Police was that the Chief had always been very difficult to deal with, as they had received similar complaints about him before, but he was allegedly defying any orders. These actions by Traditional Leaders contravened Section 281 of the Constitution and warrants their removal from office in terms of Section 283 (c) (i) of the Constitution. Moreover, there is lack of legislation which protects Traditional Leaders from manipulation by political parties. The Commission urges Traditional Leaders to work with their communities in fostering peace and political tolerance and to desist from participating in partisan politics as this has the effect of alienating some of the citizens under their jurisdiction. 3.12 Defacing and Removal of Campaign Posters The ZHRC engagements with PAs, DAs and ZRP revealed a common pattern of defacing and removal of posters for contesting candidates in contravention of paragraph 6(d) of the Fourth Schedule to the Electoral Act which prohibits this act. The defacing or removal of posters occurred in all Provinces across the Country. The ZRP indicated that it was difficult to pinpoint culprits since posters were defaced during the night. The posters targeted were for any political party. Therefore, during Multi Party Liaison Committee meetings the ZRP, PAs and DAs advised leaders of political parties to encourage their members to desist from the practice. In addition, the ZHRC attended these meetings in the different Provinces21 and encouraged political parties to desist from defacing or removing posters which were a means of disseminating information of the candidates’ campaign to the citizens in that area. The ZHRC noted efforts of the ZRP to curb defacing of posters in areas such as Gweru urban and Mvuma (Chirumhanzu district), where culprits who had defaced or removed posters were prosecuted leading to convictions and subsequent punishment. 21 ZHRC monitors attended a Multi-Party Liaison Committee meeting in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province at Constituency level and in Masvingo at Provincial Level Page 32 of 55