A tug-of-war over four elite guard dogs has turned into a full-blown political drama.

In Malawi, a dispute over four highly trained guard dogs has spiraled into an unexpected political showdown. According to The Wall Street Journal, former president Lazarus Chakwera had the dogs transferred from the presidential palace in Lilongwe to his private residence after losing last year’s election, arguing that they are part of the security detail owed to a former head of state. His successor, President Peter Mutharika, disagrees, maintaining that the dogs are government property meant to protect the sitting president—not a private citizen.

The disagreement has since escalated into a legal and political standoff. Mutharika dispatched 80 police officers to reclaim the animals, but Chakwera refused them entry. A court temporarily halted further attempts after finding a technical error in the warrant, which misidentified the dogs’ breeds. Prosecutors later corrected the paperwork, though the court has yet to decide who ultimately has the right to the dogs.

Though the animals are valued at roughly $2,300, the fight over them has taken on outsized significance, becoming a symbolic battle between Malawi’s rival political camps. It has also highlighted public anxieties about the unusual threats officials fear—including witchcraft. The Journal reports that police have even monitored Chakwera’s property using night-vision goggles.