• Women, in particular, suffered as a result of the state of the economy and politics. They lost their flea markets. Being forced to attend political rallies meant they had had to abandon their businesses [women’s group]. • As compensation, the government should accord informal traders a free year to conduct their business without tax to enable them to recover from the “economic pit” [women’s group]. iv. Institutional reform a. Election management • The integrity of the institution has been affected because of the way the system is managed, thus it was easy to mistrust the process [male participant]. This mistrust was understandable because it should not take three months to release results after an election [political activists]. • Some political parties feel they do not own the process and become suspicious when they lose [political activists]. • Strong laws that guide the election process from the pre-election period are necessary and there must be stiff penalties for offenders [political activists]. b. Media institutions • The media is sacrificing the truth through partisan reporting. • Media reform is required to ensure that accurate information is transmitted [youth group]. c. Security sector • The defence forces are being used to intimidate the electorate before elections. This is wrong, as the army must serve the people [elderly male]. • Politicians must let the police officers do their work without intimidation and the police must be free to arrest all those who violate the law, regardless of political affiliation. “If I arrest an officer from Party A, I must not be transferred to Bulawayo for doing my work. So politicians please, let us do our work” [government employee]. d. Traditional leadership • The traditional leaders consider themselves to be a vulnerable class who have lost their power and dignity because of the conduct of politicians. They wish for legal protection to enable them to execute their traditional duties with full authority. The laws have made them completely powerless in that all criminal matters, even those they are supposed to resolve, are being referred to the police [traditional leaders]. • Traditional leaders have been intimidated and used by politicians and as such have abrogated their responsibilities as leaders of the people [some participants]. Nevertheless, some traditional leaders had maintained their integrity during the conflict, declaring that they did not want violence. • They could work with other elders and respectable community leaders to lead the peace process [other participants]. Taking Transitional Justice to the People – Outreach Report 89