In Malawi, a Fierce Fight Over the Fate of 4 Dogs

In Malawi, a tug-of-war over four elite guard dogs has turned into a full-blown political drama. The Wall Street Journal reports that former President Lazarus Chakwera had the animals moved from the presidential palace in Lilongwe to his private home after losing last year's election, insisting they're part of his personal security detail as an ex-head of state. His successor, President Peter Mutharika, argues the dogs are state assets—essentially canine civil servants—that should protect the sitting president, not the former one.

The clash has escalated into a full-blown legal and political standoff: Mutharika sent 80 police officers to retrieve the dogs; Chakwera wouldn't let them in. A court temporarily blocked further seizures over a technicality—the warrant listed the wrong breeds. Prosecutors then corrected the paperwork, but the court has yet to rule on who gets to keep the dogs. The dispute, over animals worth about $2,300, has become a proxy fight between Malawi's rival parties and a window into public fears about the kinds of threats—witchcraft among them—that officials face. Read the full account, which describes police surveilling Chakwera's property with night-vision goggles, at the Journal.